Feathers of Love
by dreamergalz
Summary: -Under reconstruction- Prologue complete! New stuff will be added to each chapitre, so please read again...gomen, gomen, gomen, gomen, gomen, gomen, gomen, gomen...
1. Prologue

**-**

**- Feathers of Love -**

**- Prologue –**

**-**

**-- At the Palace of Clow --**

"Shh…sleep well, my dear. Everything is all right." A queen whispered as she touched the face of her twelve-year-old child, the princess of her country. The queen could restrain it no longer and tears fell, gently and silently, onto the cheeks of her restless child, who was sleeping, but tossing and turning.

Nadeshiko stilled the movements of the sleeping Sakura with a lullaby, which she hummed softly. There was nothing she could do, except stay in the palace with Sakura. Her husband, Fujitaka, and her son, Touya, were out fighting the war against Debonair. She knew that their country was going to fall soon, but she did not say anything. Touya and Fujitaka were trying their best to save their country and she knew that they would try, even if the end result was that their country had fallen and they were dead, but Nadeshiko dared not have these negative thoughts on her mind.

In fact, it was Debonair's fault, for she had wanted to conquer all the countries in the region. However, their country, Clow, was not the first country to be besieged by Debonair's army. Even though they had been preparing for the war for a very long time, ever since Debonair had started besieging the other neighbouring countries, it seemed that it was still not enough, for they were unable to hold back Debonair's forces for long.

Still, they would try their best!

At that moment, there was someone knocking on the door and saying, "Your Majesty, I bear grave news." Nadeshiko stood up from where she was sitting- on Sakura's bed- and went towards the door, opening it and slipping out, whispering. "Please be quiet, the princess is sleeping. Follow me."

Queen Nadeshiko led the man towards a secluded corner near Sakura's room. It was only when they reached there did Nadeshiko lift her head and look at the loyal general calmly. The old general, with wrinkles surrounding his eyes was looking grieved. His face, already weathered by the elements, was now even more wrinkled than before the war. Nadeshiko looked at him and understood, immediately.

"Who then?" she asked.

The general sighed. He did not want to be the bearer of the bad news, but he was bid to do so. The general was not out fighting the war, for he was aged and the Royal family did not want him to die out in the battlefield, so he was now a strategist, charged to protect the Royal family when needed and also plot out the plans for the battles to come with the other strategists.

"…" the general did not say.

"Who? Please answer me!" Nadeshiko asked.

"Both the King and the Crown Prince."

Silent tears welled into Nadeshiko's eyes, but she did not allow them to fall, not in front of her subject! She turned her back towards the general and wiped her tears, before walking past the general with a command, "Prepare to defend the palace."

Nadeshiko went back to Sakura's room, her will resolute. This was not the end yet. Now, even though she was a widowed Queen, she was still entitled to govern the country until she died, and the throne to be passed to Sakura, now Crown Princess of the country. But before she would think of these things, she had other things to do.

She took a bracelet out from the folds of her dress, where a pocket was hidden cleverly in it to hide the important things that she had to keep- like the bracelet, for instance. This bracelet did not look very beautiful at all, and it had a worn out look, as if it had seen the lives of people pass for many years. Indeed, this bracelet was created by the people who knew the crafts of creating an item that could keep the memories and precious items of the intended person. There were only very few people who could do this and now, the people had died out, which meant that the items with these powers were getting rarer and rarer, and the once rare items had become even more expensive now. The one that Nadeshiko had was requested by an ancestor of the Kinomoto family a few hundred years ago. The most important property of these items was that they could sense the people who were in need of the protection of their magic when the intended person wore it on their wrist. No spell was needed to activate it and they could not be removed until all the things that were kept inside were returned back to the owner.

The queen hung the bracelet on Sakura's wrist and the moment it was secure, a light shone gently from the bracelet and a breeze picked its way in form the window.

"The wind sprite that is sleeping inside this bracelet, please help me keep my daughter's memories, magical items and most important of all, the feather that is hidden inside her body. Here, I, Queen Nadeshiko of Clow, thank you."

"_Don't worry, I will do my best. I will keep these precious things of your daughter's close to me. They will be returned to her when the appropriate time comes. However, this may take a long time, for I cannot predict when everything will be returned to her, as they are very important things."_

"I understand. I do not care how long it takes for everything to return to her, as long as they are protected. Please do hurry, for I fear that Debonair may barge into the palace at any moment."

"_Understood!"_ the wind sprite whispered quietly as the light on the bracelet grew brighter and brighter, until the whole of Sakura was enveloped with it. Then, as sudden as it came, it was gone.

Sakura was now almost an empty husk, with very few memories in her. Those that she remembered were of her mother.

Nadeshiko heard a commotion outside and instantly knew that Debonair was here. She called awake Sakura and dragged the still sleepy child from her bed towards the door. They would not fight back. Nadeshiko knew that she could not beat Debonair. She would wait until the day came when her daughter's soul mate came and kissed her, thereby remembering all her past and the feather. However, if she was to regain all the memories of the past with her soul mate, that would be another problem, for a capture that was not successful had taken away her memories of him. It was only when that capture became successful would she remember every single thing.

Before Nadeshiko could reach the door, it was blasted open by a force. Debonair was here.

"Nadeshiko…good to see you so healthy and vibrant!" the voice of a woman was heard as she walked into the room.

"What do you want, Debonair? You have almost taken my country, taken my family and what else do you want?" The queen asked through gritted teeth. She had known what Debonair wanted, but she wanted to gain more time in the hopes that her husband and son were still alive and would save them.

"If you are thinking that your husband and son are still alive, think again! I killed them myself and saw them die, so there is no doubt that they have died. Now, behave like a good girl and follow me. If not, you will have to be dragged like a little animal to the courtyard."

"Let my daughter go, or else I will not follow you!"

"Ah…yes, I have forgotten that you have a daughter. Now where is she? Come along, everything will be all right if the two of you behave." Debonair said with feigned sweetness. Sakura looked at her mother in confusion. She did not know who that woman was, but she had sensed something unpleasant from her. Since Sakura did not see her mother move, she did not move either. Besides, she was a bit afraid of the woman dressed almost in black and have the face painted almost white. When Debonair saw that the two of them did not move, she became furious, immediately.

"When I say move, move!" she barked. "It seems like you do not want to preserve your dignity at all. Guards!"

Guards swarmed into the room and surrounded the queen and the princess. Sakura, feeling more and more worried at what was happening, clutched her mother's hand and looked at her. However, instead of terror, Nadeshiko smiled calmly and said, "Everything is going to be all right. Believe in yourself."

"I will, mother dear." Sakura replied.

"Silent, you insolent women!" One of the guards, which Nadeshiko and Sakura assumed to be the captain of the men, hissed, as he stared at them.

"Get them out of my sight!" Debonair shouted and under her command, Sakura and Nadeshiko were led out of the palace towards a gigantic cage, where many of the prisoners of war were kept. Already, the cage was more than three thirds full, but when the prisoners saw that the princess and queen were coming, all of them tried to make space for them so that they would be more comfortable. Nadeshiko tried to decline but the civilian still persisted and they had no choice but to accept it.

"How touching." Debonair sneered as she walked towards the cage. "Why are you still so loyal to your queen and princess when all of you are already captured by me? Your country has fallen, unless you have forgotten that…"

Meanwhile, two men were watching from not afar. They had managed to survive the battle and had sneaked into the palace to find out if their family was still all right. What they had seen had dismayed them. Both of them had thought that Nadeshiko would fight, giving Sakura a chance to escape. They looked into each other's eyes in exasperation.

"Silent! You hag!" one of the guards shouted, diverting their attention back to what was happening. "How dare you curse our queen, the one who gave us the freedom?" It seemed as if one of their loyal civilians had cursed Debonair as Debonair was walking away. She seemed not to have noticed that she was cursed, or she had pretended not to have heard. Whatever the reason, that loyal civilian was killed under the sword of the guard, who thrust it in between the bars of the cage.

"If any of you still dares to curse our queen, you will be the next when we take you to the palace of our queen! Imagine how it feels like to fall into the sky when you are already up in it?"

Everyone in the cage looked resolute. It seemed to them that when they were in the cage, all hopes of surviving were gone. The two men looked at Sakura's eyes. It was then that they realized that the reason Nadeshiko did not fight was due to the fact that she had used it already. They understood the reason now.

"Let's go!" the older man whispered into the other man's ears. They had wanted to see their family go, but they dared not, for it was getting dark and the palace would soon be filled with guards protecting Debonair before she went back to her home the next day.

Crown prince Touya and King Fujitaka slipped out of the palace and towards the home of their loyal general, which they had prepared beforehand in case their country had fallen.

**-- Somewhere in the Li Kingdom --**

The Prince of the kingdom, Li Syaoran, was staring aimlessly at the sky which was ablaze with orange by the setting sun. The sun dyed the clouds into such a beautiful pinkish orange and light purple. The window he was staring out of was in the direction of the country of his beloved, where it was under turmoil. Not that his country was able to escape from such a problem as well.

"Sakura, where are you now? Are you trying to remember me?" Syaoran thought aimlessly as he stared at nothing in the horizon. "I know that you love your country and that you will protect her with whatever you can, but, what if in the process, you have died? How can I get through this in my life?"

Syaoran looked behind him. The room, which he was in at the moment, was full of books, from wall to wall. It may seem small from where he was standing, but it was in fact a gigantic room filled to the brim with books from all over the world. He loved reading them and had remembered reading some of those books whenever he was free. Now, he would not be reading those, but something else of importance too.

Everything about his father.

Yes, he had actually known his father since he was young, since he was a young boy of three. However, his father passed away when he was eight. Syaoran actually remembered everything to do with his father when he was young, but the problem of was that recently, when he was helping Sakura to capture the last Clow card in Clow, both of them had lost something in their memories. He had forgotten about his father and Sakura, him. That was the most painful memory ever. And to make matters worse, that card, even though it had taken their memories, it was not yet captured.

Syaoran still had time to read up everything about his father, as his mother wished but what about Sakura? He could not go back to Clow now. Clow was under besiege by Debonair and it seemed that Clow would fall to Debonair's hands soon. He was brought back home unwillingly by his mother, who had explained that he was the crown prince of his own country and the country cannot afford to lose him, on the account that he was the only son in the Royal family. In fact, his mother had sprung this on him when he rested at Clow, the day after him and Sakura's failure at capturing the card.

"Son, why are you not studying?" someone asked as she walked next to him and stared at the sky too. "If you do not make use of this chance to study everything about your father, when are you going to? Before long, we will also have to battle against Debonair ourselves."

"Mother, I can't concentrate now, not with Clow in trouble." Syaoran protested.

"If you do not study now, how are you going to help Clow in the future?" Queen Yelen shot back. "You can only help Clow when you have learnt everything about your own country and your family, which you have not finished." Her eyes softened. "I know that you are thinking about Sakura, and that you want to send our country's army to help Clow, but…we need our army, and we will be defeated too if I send part of the army to Clow. Besides, Clow has fallen."

Syaoran heard it and stood, momentarily still, before he recovered enough to ask, "Sakura and her family?" Queen Yelen shook her head. "From what I have heard, it is said that King Fujitaka and Prince Touya have perished today, but it is not confirmed yet. As for Sakura and Queen Nadeshiko, they are being held at Debonair's palace. As prisoners of war, I expect." She frowned.

"I will study now, mother." Syaoran said quietly as he sat down at his seat and took one book from the pile. Yelen knew that he needed time to think about what has happened, and decided to leave him to it.

"I have important matters to look at. I'll see you at dinner." She said.

"Yes, mother." Syaoran answered, not looking up from his book. As for Yelen, she left the room and tears started falling from her eyes, out of earshot of anybody.

He was not reading at all. In fact, he was just thinking about Sakura and the happy times he had with her. He could not believe that in such a short time, they had lost almost everything from each other. Except that special something that each of them had since they were born.

Time passed. When Syaoran was too engrossed in the memories of Sakura, something broke through the window and flew towards Syaoran. He dodged it immediately, out of natural-born reflex.

He looked at the intruder. It was a gigantic bird with blur feathers and instead of a bird's head, it had a human head. An old lady's head, in fact.

"Who are you and what do you want, barging into the castle of the Li kingdom?" he asked.

"How dare you ask me who I am? I am known to everyone, unless you do not know me? I am Yubaba. And my purpose? I need more people to work at my bathhouse, and you seem to be a choice." The bird cackled and cast a spell, which Syaoran dodged again. It was to no avail. Syaoran was captured in moments by Yubaba's strong spells and he was taken away from the castle by Yubaba. By the time Yelen came to see what had happened, Syaoran was already gone.

**-- In the Spirit World --**

Clow Reed looked on, with no expressions on his face. He had already expected something like this to happen when he was alive, hundreds of years ago, and part of it had come true. He did not know if the rest of it would come true too but he hoped that it would, for if it did not, then the world would be destroyed by Debonair's evil hands. Clow had also wanted to see what would happen in the end, as the future he had predicted further on was very foggy and there were many paths a person could take, with only a few of them leading to the eventual happiness of the two people who would save the world…

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Yeah! Exams are overTODAY and I have finished the prologue today! bows Thanks to those who have supported Feathers of Love! smiles happily This is the rewritten version of it and there are new things added to this chapitre. I hope that I can add something new to each chapitre and make the fanfiction longer and more interesting! Please continue to support Feathers of Love! 

I would like to thank the following people for your wonderful reviews:

**Mariko/ Maisuki-chan:** Arigato gozaimashita for your reviews! They are very encouraging and as for your fanfic, I think that they are REALLY VERY INTERESTING. It is just that I am not very good with giving comments…lol. :D

**justine:** Thanks!

**BlueStar123:** I'm glad that you like it:)

**Hillary:** Arigato!

**sweet-little-girl:** Thank you!

**tenshi cherry blossoms:** Er…yeah, the end result is that Syaoran _is _Haku…

**Tenille:** Arigato!

**Angel Cherry Blossom:** Yup, Spirited Away is a movie. :D

**nutty-brains:** Arigato! But I still cannot forgive you for wanting to stop writing Inu Sensei. Hmph!

**kawaiisakura05:** Thanks for enjoying reading this fanfic! However, the songs are NOT written by me…they were written by someone else.

**MoonShineSilver:** Thank you so much!

**XcherryXblossomX:** :D

**AxFaTaLxiLLuSioN:** Yes, is it Spirited Away!

**Xtremequeen666:** Thanks for your comments! I have reread this fanfic and due to this, I have decided to rewrite the whole fanfic…by the way, also got new ideas for this fanfic too:D

**FlowerLover:** I know what you mean when teachers give so much homework…anyway, enjoy yourself!

**kawaiiseeker987:** I'll try to update whenever I can:D

**iluvanime493:** Thank you!

**Pinaygrrl:** I will!

**Juay:** Thank you very much! And yes, this fanfic kind of started when I read Tsubasa…

**Jen:** I will update ASAP:D

I really hope that all of you will like this newer version of Feathers of Love! Arigato gozaimashita! bows

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything at all, so please, just enjoy yourself reading this fanfiction and don't sue me. :D arigato!**

**Completed on: 12 May 2005**


	2. Chapitre One: The Slave

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre One: The Slave**

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Sakura Kinomoto, now sixteen years old, lugged two pails of hot water that was enough to scald people up the stairs of Queen Debonair's palace. She had been there for four years since the capture of her country. That was what her mother, Nadeshiko, told her. However, she could not understand why her mother did not tell her about the bracelet that she had on. She had often pestered her to tell her about it but she would not tell, always saying that she would know when it was time. Sakura also vaguely remembered that when she was first captured, nobody could take the bracelet off.

"Funny." Sakura thought as she climbed up the torturous four flights of stairs to reach her mistress's room. "Why is it that Princess Nova needs such hot water to bathe? I cannot even stand the heat, much less her. Unless she wants to torture all the slaves here. I know for the fact that the slaves they have here are all royal families. All of them were captured, like mother and me..."

Finally, Sakura reached the doors of her mistress's room. Timidly, she knocked on the door softly before opening it. It was not the main door, of course. It was the servants' staircase and all slaves and servants alike would enter to their mistresses or masters' rooms through this way. Knocking on the door was an order imposed by Sakura's mistress and this was to allow the people they served to know that they were there with whatever they wanted. Whether it was courtesy or not, they did not know, but Sakura did not care. She was already used to the tortures that they had imposed, just so that they would be frightened.

Sakura walked towards the already almost brimming humungous bathtub that she was ordered to fill up for her mistress's bath. She had made more than ten trips to fill this tub up and this would be the last two pails. Sakura filled the waters with the scents her mistress had ordered to add and knelt in front of the feet of her mistress.

"Your Highness, your bath is ready." Sakura whispered, her eyes looking down at Nova's feet.

"Good. But why have you been taking so long? Hmm?" The clipped voice that signaled the start of Nova's anger could be detected and Sakura was starting to feel a bit nervous.

"Your Highness, there are many people demanding baths, including Her Majesty. I have tried to ask for Your Highness's bath first but to no avail...as Her Majesty's bath was to be filled first..."

"Why you..." Nova's hand moved and slapped Sakura's face. "You slave! Are you so useless like your mother, who is at the kitchens washing bowls? You were fortunate that my mother selected to serve me. Have you ever wondered why other slaves and servants want to serve me?"

"I'm sorry...so sorry, Your Highness..."

"Forget it! I want my bath now! Next time, you better be punctual!"

"Yes, Your Highness." Sakura whispered as she stood up and walked towards the so-called back door, back facing the door. When she was about to walk down the stairs, Princess Nova called out: "Come back, slave! I heard that you are good at singing! Sing one song for me!"

"Why must the rumors reach her? To think that I would be free to help mother now to lighten her burden!" Sakura thought sadly. "Yes, I do love singing, but mother has warned me not to do so..." She walked back and knelt in front of Nova again.

"What song would you like to hear, You Highness?" she asked in her gentle voice.

"I want to hear the song...erm, Ningyo Hime. I heard that it is quite a nice song. Sing now!" Nova ordered.

"As you wish, You Highness." While they were talking, servants entered and they helped Nova into the bathtub and bathe her.

Softly, Sakura started the song by humming the introduction due to the lack of a harp, which she used to use when she was singing.

Sakura felt nervous but when she started, she felt at ease and also enjoying what she was singing.

Princess Nova nodded her head in satisfaction as her servants were washing her.

Sakura finished her song and knelt down again, looking at the bathtub. Her singing enraptured Nova, Sakura could tell, for the first time in her time at Queen Debonair's castle, Nova was not screeching at anybody or scolding them. It was quietness, so quiet that Sakura was afraid that Princess Nova would come up with something more poisonous than ever to scold her with.

"I hope that Princess Nova enjoyed my singing, or I would be tortured again, even though I am not the one who proclaimed that I was good at singing. Really, I really want things to be as usual, not like now..." Sakura thought before she was interrupted.

"You! What is your name?" Nova asked Sakura as she looked at the top of Sakura's long mane of messy hair. "Raise you head!"

Shakily, Sakura raised her head and looked still, at the bathtub, for she did not want to be flogged by Nova. She answered, "Your slave's name is...Sa...Sakura...Kin...Kinomoto." Sakura stammered.

Nova nodded her head as she turned to look at the servant who had scrubbed her a bit too hard. "What do you think you are doing?" she barked angrily. The servant looked down and stammered a reply, "I...I am sorry, Your Highness..."

She ignored her and looked at Sakura again. Nova could see that under all the dirt and mane of dirty hair, she could see a bright pair of emerald eyes and fair skin. She was definitely beautiful but all was covered under the dirt...

"I want you to be my singer from now onwards. Sing that song again!" Nova ordered. Sakura obeyed the order and when Nova's bath was over, Nova dismissed Sakura and Nova went to dress for her dinner with Queen Debonair. Sakura walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where people were running about, carrying things around. Everything was hectic there, but she could see her mother there, at a corner where she usually sat, washing dishes obediently. If Nadeshiko were not able to wash all the dishes, the Cook would flog her.

"Where have you been, Sakura?" Nadeshiko asked when Sakura reached her mother and started to help her wash the huge stack of dishes.

"Sorry I'm late, mother, but Princess Nova wanted me to sing for her and with no choice, I sang for her. Now, she wanted me to be her singer. I guess in the future, I may not be able to help you down here anymore." Sakura turned her emerald orbs to look her mother.

Nadeshiko sighed. "It is our fate to serve this family. Now, let's not talk about this anymore. Remember, you have to be careful, all right? We better wash all these dishes. There will be more to be washed after dinner."

"Yes mother. I will remember that I am always the slave here." Sakura sighed as she washed the dishes...

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Clamp or any other authors of their mangas/anime, but only the plot of this story!

Hmm...quite fast today, having finished both Chapitre One and ALSO Angelic Destiny...well, I have to go now! See ya!


	3. Chapitre Two: The Ball

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Two: The Ball**

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Days passed by quickly but for Sakura, Nadeshiko and the other slaves and servants, days passed by too quickly, with the day ending when they slept and the next day when the bell rang to order all the slaves and servants to wake up. 

As for Sakura, she went to Princess's Nova's room and sang for her whenever she was summoned to sing for her. Sakura was always afraid that the people would harm her in every way but so far, it did not seem to happen. In fact, they ignored her like she was piece of dirt. Nadeshiko, however, was not so fortunate for most of the time, Sakura was away at Princess Nova's room to sing for her instead of helping her mother. Thus, Nadeshiko received more beatings from the Cook than ever for washing the dishes so slowly that there were not enough dishes to use. If Nadeshiko could, she would have used her magic to help her as she was one of the few with magic. However, if Nadeshiko were to use magic, she would suffer more as what had happened in the past when she first tried to use it.

On the day of a very important ball that was to happen, with important people arriving, Sakura was, once again, at Nova's room, singing for her as Nova was bathing. Nova, as usual, was ordering the people in her room to do her bidding. When Sakura arrived through the servants' and slaves' door, the whole room was hectic, for there seemed to be a very important guest arriving that day. There were gowns, jewellery, and hats thrown about as Princess Nova was searching for the most suitable dress to wear for the occasion. The servants in charge of her wardrobe could not decide what let Princess Nova to wear, for everything seemed not to be very suitable for Princess Nova now.

Timidly, Sakura went to the impatient tapping feet of Princess Nova and knelt down, greeting her at the same time, "Good evening, Your Highness. What song would you like your slave to sing today?"

"Forget about singing! Help me look for a dress that is suitable for a ball tonight! To think that I have ordered new dresses made and they are not good enough! Argh!" Nova was almost screaming now.

"Yes, Your Highness." Sakura answered as she tried to wipe her hands clean on the very dirty dress she was wearing. Then, she went towards the wardrobe and looked at the variety of dresses, jewellery and headdresses. Quietly, Sakura went to the servants in charge of Nova's wardrobe and asked, "Can I get one of the dresses from the wardrobe? Princess Nova asked me to look for a suitable dress for her too."

The already white-faced with fear servants nodded her head dumbly but then suddenly remembered, "You are not supposed to touch the dresses and other things. I'll take for you. Which one?"

Sakura whispered, "Don't worry, I think Princess Nova would love this dress. I know servants and slaves usually do not talk to each other but as this a matter of importance, I guess we have no choice." The servant nodded her head. "Things are changing now. Even this princess, who is probably from Clow, is talking gently to me. I guess everything will change, hopefully for the better." She thought.

Sakura pointed out a dress in the deep end of the wardrobe. The servant went and took it out, shaking out the wrinkles. "What else? I still need jewellery and a headdress." The servant looked back fearfully. "You better be quick, Princess Nova is getting angry and you would also be punished if we do not hurry." Sakura nodded her head. Then she pointed out some pieces of jewellery, and also a small headdress. The servant took them all and both of them gingerly walked quickly to Princess Nova, the servant in front and Sakura behind.

"Please, do not let Princess Nova know that I had selected this outfit. You take the honours to tell her." Sakura murmured as she knelt down while the servant held up the outfit, with the help of other servants.

"Your Highness, is this outfit suitable?" Sakura murmured while the servants held the outfit. Nova turned her critical eyes and scanned at everything that was held in the servants' hands. She nodded with approval.

"Beautiful, a dark blue dress with white designs and amethysts as jewellery. What is the theme?" Nova asked as she looked at the fearful servants. Their faces became whiter.

Sakura murmured, "A kingfisher."

Nova looked down at Sakura. "Why a kingfisher?"

"Your Highness, kingfishers have a beautiful blue colour that is around this shade. It is possible that the colour may be lighter but your slave feels that...it is very suitable for Your Highness..."

"Hmm...I think that this is the kind of dress mother would want me to wear tonight. I'll wear this then! Bathe me!" Nova ordered at the slaves who had brought the heated water up and hurriedly poured them into the bathtub, for the water was beginning to cool down.

"Sakura! Sing me a song!" Nova said as she went into the bathtub.

"What song would you like your slave to sing?"

"Anything! Sing now!" Sakura flinched, as though she was being slapped.

"Yes, Your Highness. Your slave would be singing this song: Kingfisher Girl."

Nova nodded her head.

Sakura ended the song while Princess Nova sat in the bathtub mesmerized by the song.

"You are to sing at the feast tonight! Go and wash up now! Ask the cook to spare you some water! By the way, what is your full name again?"

"Your Highness, your slave's name is Sakura Kinomoto."

"Is your mother still washing dishes? Tell her that she is to stop washing the dishes and to start washing herself too! She will be with you singing songs at the feast! Now go! Take this with you to show the Cook that I have ordered both of you to have water to bathe! After bathing, go to the servants' quarters and ask for some new clothes!"

"Yes, Your Highness. Your slave would be ready...if it is not too much, can your slave have a lowly harp to accompany my mother and your slave when your slave sings?"

"All right, all right! Go get one too!" Princess Nova was getting frustrated.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Sakura murmured as she went to do as Princess Nova had requested. Nadeshiko and Sakura went for a bath, got some new clothes, and also a very simple wooden harp. However, Nadeshiko was worried, for there was no such thing as a slave singing for important people. Something must be wrong.

"Sakura," Nadeshiko asked. "Did something happen when you were at Princess Nova's room?"

"Nothing, mother. I was just doing as she had ordered me to and nothing else."

"Something must be wrong. Be on your lookout. Remember to hide the bracelet. It is very important and I do not want people to see it."

"Yes, mother." Sakura said as she hid the bracelet. Then, they waited for the ball to begin at the slaves' and servants' door. Waiting for their turn to be ordered by Princess Nova to enter and sing for the people present. It was very peculiar, until they sensed something very powerful entering the palace...

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Clamp or any other people! 

End of Chapitre Two! Yeah! I forgot to mention in the previous Chapitre that Ningyo Hime is the second ending of Chobits, sung by Rie Takana. As for the song Kingfisher Girl, it is sung by Maaya Sakamoto. :D Happy reading! Review too, please?


	4. Chapitre Three: The Arrival

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**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Three: The Arrival**

* * *

Somewhere out there, further away that you could imagine, in another land, a young man and an old woman were preparing for an important event. There was nothing special about this event, except that it was different from the ones that they had went to before. What they were doing was to steal something of great importance to that country...

Of course, it was not the first time both of them had tried to steal things, but it was one of the most important things they were trying to steal. The young man was doing all the dirty work, but without the old woman, he could not even enter the place where he was supposed to be stealing the thing.

"Haku! Come here!" the old woman commanded.

Haku went over and asked, "Yes, Yubaba?"

"Go get your hidden weapons ready; and have a change in clothes! Why are you still wearing this? Get something nicer!"

"Yes Yubaba."

Just at that moment, loud wails could be heard from another room. It was ear splitting and Yubaba immediately went into the curtained off room, and coaxed the child to quiet down. Of course, it took a long time and no doubt the being did not want Yubaba to leave and leave him alone with Yubaba's three heads to entertain him.

Finally, Yubaba came out of the room, and Haku, who had spent the time waiting to change into new clothes, was waiting quietly for Yubaba, who was putting on some make up before they left.

"Come. Let's go to the roof. You better remember to follow me, or you will have to find your own way!"

"Yes, Yubaba." Haku said as he went to the roof with her. There, she changed into her flying form, the form of a bird and flew out into the afternoon sun. Haku followed behind by turning into a white dragon. They set out for the palace of Queen Debonair...

* * *

Meanwhile, while waiting, Nadeshiko and Sakura were given something to eat by the Cook, who had some leftover food that would not be served to the guests. It was the ends of raw carrots and turnips. There was not much, but it still tasted better than the watery broth that they had to eat everyday. Even though there was still mud on them, they gently pried it away and hid them in their skirts, for if they dirtied the floor, they would be punished later on. Both of them ate their food slowly, savoring the taste of raw vegetables, which they had not the chance of eating after four years.

When they were done with their dinner, the ball had not started yet, so the two of them sat down in one corner of the servants' and slaves' staircase and waited. They would be entering to the Dining Hall through the staircase and at that moment, it was very busy, with people carrying hot water and other things up to their masters' and mistresses' rooms. They were attending the ball too, and they wanted to be on their best, since they were, after all, receiving very important people to the palace.

Nadeshiko took the harp as they sat down on their old clothes, which were slightly cleaner now after washing it when they were taking their baths, when people were not looking. Though it may still be wet, but it was better than standing up and waiting for their turn. They were not given these clothes and they would have to don their slaves' rags when the ball was over, for the clothes they had on were only lent to them. If they did not return the clothes the way they were, that was clean, they would be flogged and more work would be piled on their shoulders. She began tuning the harp, which seemed to be a bit old and forgotten. When they had gotten this harp, on loan too, there were layers of dust on it and they had to use their clothes to wipe away the dust. However, it was worth it, for they had seen that this harp was not simple. It was beautiful, in its own way.

"Mother, how long do you think we have to wait?" Sakura asked as she watched her mother tuning the harp.

"I don't know, but I believe that it would be well after their dinner, after they had danced to their hearts' contents. After that, we would sing for them. I assume that by then, it would be very late and we will probably not sleep tonight and just have to work as usual tomorrow.

"Yeah...I think that you are right. Hmm?" Nadeshiko had finished tuning the harp and something seemed to be making the two of them disturbed. "Mother...why is it that this harp has magical powers? Is it enchanted with evil magic or only magic used to amplify the music we would be playing?" Sakura whispered, trying to hide the aura with the tiny bit of magic that she had out of her control but not more than the amount for people to start noticing her and throw them into the dungeons.

"I...I don't know. I have never seen something like this before. Unless this is a treasure but the inhabitants in the palace does not know. We better hide this until we perform, or else people with the slight bit of magic would notice what we are having. As we have already returned Princess Nova's token to her, so we cannot change another harp. Even if we still have her token, we cannot change the harp. The people there would not even look at us."

"You are right, mother." Sakura said. Just at that moment, she heard something, something like applause. It seemed as if the guests had arrived. "Mother, I guess we better stop talking then."

"Yes."

The applause seemed to have become even louder and it was possible that the guests had entered the Dining Hall. Involuntarily, both Sakura and Nadeshiko started to gasp. The guests were not ordinary people! They had magic in them!

* * *

Yubaba and Haku had reached the palace of Queen Debonair and they entered it through the gates itself after changing back into their human forms. The guards had recognized them and bowed low as the two of them entered the palace. One of the guards brought them to the door of the palace, where another person, who was probably the steward of the palace, brought them to the Dining Hall after greeting them formally. Both Yubaba and Haku were silent, for they were observing the grounds of the palace. They had wanted to steal that something and they could sense that it was in the palace, somewhere.

"Here is the Dining Hall. May the two of you enjoy your stay at the palace." The steward said before he left them at the doors, where two knights were there, waiting for the arrival of the two of them so that they could announce the arrival of Yubaba and Haku.

"Yubaba and Haku have arrived!" Both of the knights announced as they threw open the doors. Applause sounded as the people seated saw them. Both Yubaba and Haku ignored the laughter and walked towards the highest table, where there were two empty seats waiting for them on the right of Queen Debonair.

Debonair and Nova stood up. "Welcome to my country! Please be seated and food will be served to you soon." Debonair greeted the two of them.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Yubaba said as they walked to their seats, Haku first helping Yubaba into hers before sitting down on the other chair himself. The moment they were seated, food was served and everyone started eating.

Nova, who thought that Haku was very handsome and wanted to toy with him tried to chat with him. It was to no avail, for Haku kept silent the moment he saw Yubaba look at him with a glance. Thus, Nova was a bit sulky and kept silent the whole dinner too.

After that, the dancing started but nobody at the high table wanted to dance, so they watched the other people dance while trying unsuccessfully to converse with each other.

* * *

At the same time, both Nadeshiko and Sakura were waiting nervously for their cue to enter the Dining Hall, for they were afraid that people would notice that they had a magical harp with them.

"Let's hope nothing will happen when we sing." Nadeshiko said as she heard the last faint tunes of the dance die away. "We will be called any moment."

"Now mother," Nova proclaimed in a loud voice. "I have found two slaves who could sing very well and I have asked them to sing for us tonight. Can I call them in?"

"Why yes. If there is no singing, how can our day end?" Debonair smiled.

"All right then! Nadeshiko! Sakura! Come in and do your singing!"

Both Sakura and Nadeshiko scrambled up the remaining steps and carried the harp with them too. Both of them entered the Dining Hall and walked towards the center of the room. They curtsied and greeted them, "Good evening, masters', mistresses', Yubaba and Haku. Your slaves would be singing some songs for all of you to enjoy."

Nadeshiko knelt on the ground as she started to play the harp, for there was not chair for her to sit on. She sneaked a look at Yubaba and Haku. Haku seemed familiar like the young boy she had known some years back...

Sakura remained standing and felt peoples' eyes staring at her. She felt an stare that made her feel uncomfortable. She dared not look up for fear of being flogged.

Haku stared at the two slaves in front of him. They seemed so familiar. It was as if he knew them before...

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Clamp or any other people who created the stories that they had drawn! I only own the story plot! Please bear in mind with that. :)

Yeah! Finished Chapitre Three! Wow! Took quite a short time too! Please do read Angelic Destiny, will you all? Remember to review! Thanks to those who did! Ja!


	5. Chapitre Four: The Singing

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Four: The Singing**

* * *

Haku continued staring at the two of them, thinking hard about where he had seen them before. He was frowning now, but he did not care, for he knew that he had seen them before but he was not sure where. Now, what were their names again? Oh yeah! Nadeshiko and Sakura. Hmm...he seemed to remember something about them now, especially the one called Sakura. But which one was Sakura?

Sakura was trembling, for the boy guest who was here was really staring her and her mother. She could feel that he was frowning at the two of them, but what was the reason? They had not done anything wrong...unless, unless they knew about the harp! If so, would they let Queen Debonair and Princess Nova know? Sakura glanced sideways at the boy. He looked to be around her age, perhaps seventeen and had a head of unruly brown hair that was threatening to fall over his eyes. She stared at the pair of eyes...they really seemed very familiar and it was as if she knew him before...she was afraid but where had she ever seen him before? Was it before she was brought here as a slave?

Haku continued looking at the girl. The younger one. Princess Nova noticed this and asked Haku, "So, which of our slaves do you like? The younger one called Sakura?" Nova smiled.

"So the younger one is called Sakura..." he realized in his mind. Then, he sensed something emanating from them. "Magical auras?"

Haku remained silent. Nova gave up trying to talk to him.

Nadeshiko did not know what song to play. She really did not know. She snuck a glance at the boy and smiled. 'Perhaps something to hint about their past. I assume that Sakura is now confused and wondering why the boy seemed so...curious about them. Shiroi Ryuu? Or some other song?" Nadeshiko wondered.

Nadeshiko was startled out of her wondering when Princess Nova suddenly asked in her imperious, "Why are the two of you not singing?" Sakura was also startled and she whispered to Nadeshiko hurriedly, for Sakura had no idea what to sing at the moment, "Play Kingfisher Girl."

Hearing that, Nadeshiko started playing the familiar tune. This song was beautiful...for it told the story of a girl who could turn into a kingfisher. It was probably a love song...

Haku listened to the tune, mesmerized by it. When the music started, the who Dining Hall became silent, all its inhabitants listening to an unknown song, except Princess Nova, who, though had listened to this song before, wanted to listen to this song again.

The introduction of the song over, the two of them started singing.

When the two of them started to sing, it was as if the world had stopped revolving. It seemed that the two of them were the ones who controlled the world. Everyone listened, tears glistening in their eyes for such a bittersweet song. To Nova, it was as if she was in heaven. For the song was even better when the two of them sung together! Everyone continued listening and not a single sound broke Nadeshiko's and Sakura's singing.

Haku listened, his heart pounding. He could not believe that someone could sing such beautiful songs! It was as if they were singing with their heart and soul! The singing, however, did not touch Yubaba. She sensed something coming from the two of them. Magical auras, or was it not? It was possible that something was done on the harp. Unless this was the harp they were planning to steal? However, the design she was looking for to confirm the harp they wanted was not where she could see. It was underneath the whole thing.

Debonair was thinking, "Who could have sung such good songs among our slaves and servants? I must take them order them to sing for me everyday!"

Sakura was not really happy to be there, in front of all the people and singing. Though she liked what she was singing, she was in fact quaking inside. What if she and her mother were flogged for singing this well? If that were the case, then the two of them would really suffer later that night.

Nadeshiko stole a look at her daughter. She seemed worried about something. Was it that she had suddenly remembered who that familiar boy on the guest seat was? She hoped not, for it was a very bad place for her to remember. If she really did so, the spell in the bracelet would break and then her magical powers would resume to its might and the cards would be out. She really hoped not. However...she suddenly remembered that only the kiss of the soul mate could break the spell...how could she have forgotten about that? It was a miracle for her to do so, unless this did not happen before. She remembered that none of her ancestors had a soul mate...

Souls mates were of course rare, and to meet the one a person was destined to, it was even harder. She knew that Sakura was destined to meet someone...that someone whom Sakura had forgotten...oh dear, what if Sakura really did remember?

Haku gazed at Sakura. She seemed to be so...beautiful and so delicate too. He remembered something about them finally. They were at a castle, small but beautifully and simply furnished. They were talking about something, something that he could not remember but he knew that they were enjoying themselves...

Yubaba looked at Nadeshiko and Sakura, then at Haku. "He seems to be falling in love with the younger girl..." Yubaba thought as she tried to sense whether it was magical aura or not. "Hmm...it seems to be magical aura...I'll ask for that harp, if I cannot get it then I will ask Haku to steal it for me."

Nova was looking at her singers. They seemed at ease of what they were doing, though they looked a bi frightened. Especially Sakura. Their faces were slightly white, though it was not very clear. She looked at her mother, Queen Debonair, and realized that their singing, like Haku and the other people in the Dining Hall, also mesmerized her. So she would get her mother's praise when the ball ended. "Good, but mother might want to take the two of them away from me..." Nova thought.

Sakura looked up, and involuntarily, she met the eyes of the one who was staring at her all the time. She looked down quickly.

Haku caught the look on Sakura's face. She was terribly frightened. However, he also noticed her eyes...they were emerald and were beautiful...

The song ended, and applause erupted from everyone's hands. Though everyone was applauding, Nadeshiko and Sakura shakily curtsied, fearing that all the applause was just a façade, and that they would be punished later on.

Nadeshiko and Sakura continued to look down. Nova ordered, "Sing another song for us."

"Yes, Your Highnesses, masters', mistresses', Yubaba and Haku. Your slaves are obliged." Sakura murmured.

"What song are you going to sing now?" Yubaba asked, feeling something unpleasant.

"Madam, how about Shiroi Ryuu?" Nadeshiko asked.

Applause sounded everywhere, while Yubaba's face turned white with fear, fearing that their purpose of stealing something would be given away to everyone...

* * *

Clow looked at what was happening...and smiled again.

"Yes, everything is still going as I had planned..." he said as he continued watching events unfold...

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with any of the authors of the manga, anime, song...etc, so please don't sue me. :D

So...how was it? Please review if possible! I will appreciate that! Please do...please? All right, I have finished updating my two fanfics in one day! I should have some form of incentive, right? I will try to update as soon as possible, if I can get some reviews from you readers out there:D


	6. Chapitre Five: The Dragon

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Five: The Dragon**

* * *

Yubaba's face was white, very white. "How could they know the song that would make Haku change into his dragon form, not under my command to order him to change into a dragon?" Yubaba observed the singers in front of her and tried to stare into their eyes. She tried, but to no avail, for both of them were looking down and it was difficult to catch their attention.

"Why are your slaves looking down and not looking up?" Yubaba asked conversationally as she tried to catch their attention.

"Well, they are slaves after all! Slaves and servants should look down to show respect to the people they are serving!" Queen Debonair answered as she looked at Yubaba. "Are you interested in the girls?"

"Why...yes. I'll like to take a look at them."

"Sakura, Nadeshiko! Raise your heads and look at us!" Princess Nova ordered. Reluctantly, the two of them raised their heads. They did not know where to look and just looked at the wall behind Princess Nova and the others. However, Sakura was a bit terrified, for nobody except Princess Nova had ordered her to raise her head. Yubaba, at this chance, tried to catch their eyes' attention, but she failed. It seemed as if that when she had tried to catch their attention, the slaves before her would instinctively know and look at somewhere else.

After a few minutes, Nadeshiko asked quietly, "Your Highnesses, may we proceed with our singing?"

"Please do." Haku said suddenly. "I would love to hear you all sing again." Upon hearing this, the two of them curtsied again and went back to getting ready for their singing.

"What do you think you are saying?" Yubaba whispered urgently into Haku's ear.

"You are courting your own death! Do you know that?"

"What are you saying? I do not understand." At this, Yubaba understood why. It was because Haku had never this experience of changing into a dragon against his will...he would never know why but it would be painful, unless it was his soul mate singing the song to him...which was impossible, for he had never met his soul mate before.

"Sakura, you sing this song. You can sing it better than me. As for me, I will just play the tune. Are you comfortable with singing solo?" Nadeshiko whispered as she checked that the harp remained tuned.

"Mother...why do you not want to sing with me?"

"We'll talk later..."

"Hai..."

The music started once again. Immediately, the whole Dining Hall became silent as they were listening to the music...

However, to Haku, it seemed as if it was torture. The introduction was so painful, like white fire searing in his very bones...

Sakura started singing, her melodious voice pure and light:

"_Tsuki no umi kasumete tobu_

_Watashi no taisetsu na shiroi ryuu_

_Hayaku hayaku motto hayaku_

_Watashi no moto e to_

_(Flying stealthily over the moonlit sea_

_My precious white dragon_

_Faster, faster, hurry_

_To my side)_"

Haku started transforming, quickly. However, funnily, he did not feel any pain, but felt very normal, like transforming for Yubaba. It was funny, for he had not experienced this before. His hair changed to a blue colour and his body started to become long and scaly.

"_Gin no uroko chi ni mamirete_

_Ubawareta namae motomete_

_Atedonaku sasurau_

_Utsukushii shiroi ryuu_

_Itoshii shiroi ryuu_

_Sen no yoru wo nomi_

_Chihiro no mio ni shizume_

_(Silver scales stained with blood_

_Seeking your stolen name_

_Aimlessly wandering_

_Beautiful white dragon_

_Beloved white dragon_

_Drink Sen's nights_

_Be soothed in Chihiro's waters)_"

Sakura, unconscious of what was happening, continued singing in her sweet voice. However, Nadeshiko noticed what was happening and snuck a look at Haku. She could see that he was fast becoming a dragon. However, she noticed that Yubaba's face was turning very white and it was as if she knew that this was going to happen. Sakura closed her eyes as she continued singing while Nadeshiko continued playing the tune. Princess Nova and Queen Debonair noticed the changes in Haku and were starting to become afraid. The audience was also transfixed by Haku's transformation and only Sakura did not realize. She did not realize that there was an increase in the magical aura...she just continued singing.

"_Sabi no kaze shiofuku tsuchi_

_Watashi no takanaru shiroi mune_

_Hayaku hayaku motto hayaku_

_Yutaka ni afure yo_

_(The earth breathes a rust-colored wind_

_My white heart throbs_

_Faster, faster, hurry_

_Overflow with richness)_"

Haku started to become a bit too big for his chair and thus flew up, while he continued changing, his face becoming longer, and more like a dragon. His hands and feet became smaller and lizard-like. He was turning, more and more quickly into a dragon...a white dragon, in fact.

"_Aoi tategami wa hi ni yakare_

_Umerareta kawa wo motomete_

_Atedonaku sasurau_

_Utsukushii shiroi ryuu_

_Itoshii shiroi ryuu_

_Kakusareta watashi no_

_Wakiitsuru nagare e_

_(Blue mane burning with fire_

_Seeking that buried river_

_Aimlessly wandering_

_Beautiful white dragon_

_Beloved white dragon_

_Come to this welling stream _

_That was hidden within me)_"

Sakura still continued singing, while Haku continued changing into a dragon, painlessly. Her voice rose up and down, while the transformation of Haku continued.

"_Sen no yoru wo nomi_

_Chihiro no mio ni shizume_

_(Drink Sen's nights_

_Be soothed in Chihiro's waters)_"

It finally ended, and Sakura opened her eyes when she heard the audience gasp collectively. It was then that she sensed that there was something flying above her with a powerful magical aura. Sakura looked up and saw a white dragon, soaring above her. Sakura looked at where Nova and the others were sitting and noticed that Haku's seat was overturned and empty.

"So...the dragon must be Haku..." Sakura thought. "What have I done?"

She looked at Nadeshiko, who was looking at her daughter with satisfaction. Sakura rose her eyebrows to indicate what was her mother thinking of when she realized that there was a strong gust of wind. She looked at Nova, and saw that the dragon had landed in front of her, looking at her with kindness. Sakura was afraid, afraid that the dragon would tear her to pieces, when the dragon looked at her and flew towards the harp. Sakura did not know why but she ran forward, crying, "Please! Please do not destroy the harp, or my mother and I would be punished!"

The dragon hesitated. In the end, it used its mouth and took the harp, and the long scaly, Chinese looking dragon flew out of the Dining Hall and out of the palace. When Sakura was not in close contact with it, she was not able to hide the harp's aura anymore.

At last, Queen Debonair realized what the harp was. "Men! Get that harp for me! If you do not get it back, all of you will die!" The solders ran after the white dragon and the harp, which they hoped to get it back so that they would not be put to death.

When the solders had gone, Debonair looked at Sakura and Nadeshiko. "Did you know that the harp was magical?" The two of them shook their heads while looking down. "Throw them into the dungeons!"

"Mother! I believe that they are innocent! Look at the two of them! They do not know what had happened, and neither do I! I think that the best thing would be to find that dragon and the harp back before we do anything! The dragon and harp are more important than two slaves! We can deal with them later!"

"All right, all right! I can't believe that that harp can be found by them after so many of searching myself!" Queen Debonair said crossly. "The two of you are dismissed!" At this, Sakura and Nadeshiko hurriedly curtsied and walked as calmly as they could back to the servants' and slaves' staircase and retrieved their slaves' clothes. Then they went back to return their still clean clothing to where they were supposed to go after the ball. After which, they went quietly to bed...

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or anything! Just this plot only!

Wow! Wow! Wow! How is it? Hmm? Please enjoy! Can you all also please read Angelic Destiny? That story is about halfway done! Please read so that I can finish it faster and concentrate on this story and not two at the same time! Review too...please?


	7. Chapitre Six: The Fugitive

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Six: The Fugitive**

* * *

The dragon flew towards nowhere, trying to hide from the soldiers that were fast on its trail. The dragon could try to hide in the clouds whenever it could, but on that day, it was impossible, for the winds blew in another direction, and thus all the clouds that it could have used for cover were blown to somewhere else. The soldiers could see where it went, and it tried to hide in the shadows, whenever possible. Luckily, only soldiers were chasing it. If there were sorcerers after it, it would be in deep trouble. Though it loved to learn magic, there were, after all, people who could use magic more efficiently than it could.

The harp was still in its mouth and if felt heavier than ever. The dragon was getting tired. Having no choice, the dragon sought for a place to hide the harp before it went back to Debonair's palace to hide until Yubaba left the palace. It looked for a magical tree, one that was strong enough to hide the aura of the harp. Then it sensed it. That tree! The tree with pink petals! The dragon landed there, out of sight of the solders and thrust the harp into the roots of the tree. Then, it chanted a spell softly and the both the auras of the tree and harp suddenly disappeared.

After that, it flew back to the palace, hiding its aura at the same time. It was tricky to get into the palace again, but it managed to do so, ducking into the shadows when people were nearby and flying quickly to another building when people were not looking.

By then, many people were already sleeping, save for the soldiers patrolling the area and also those searching for it. It spotted an open staircase and flew into it. When it was safely inside the staircase, it changed back into its human form and quietly climbed up the stairs. Haku was searching for the two singers who sang just now at the ball. "They sang very nicely." Haku thought. "But Yubaba does not seem happy about it. Is it because of my transformation? I think that I need not report to her today. She will know that I am already. What is most important now is that I must hide somewhere where the queen will not be able to find me, if not I will be doomed."

Haku could not remember the aura of the two singers, Nadeshiko and Sakura. But he knew that the only people who had magical powers so strong as them were only Nova and Debonair, and the odd number of 'masters' and 'mistresses'. The rest had very little magical powers and it was so little that it need not be taken notice of. The other slaves and servants probably did not know that they had magical powers, that was what Haku guessed.

"Hmm...judging from the stink here, I guess I am near the slaves' quarters. Other than slaves' living here, in this damp and smelly place, the only other smelly place is the servants' quarters but that is not so smelly as they have baths but the slaves do not have any, from what I know." Haku thought.

"Ahh...so here is where Sakura and Nadeshiko sleep." Silently, he opened the door and entered it. The two of them slept here, away from the other slaves. The only problem was that this place was smaller than the other rooms shared by at least ten slaves. At least ten slaves could sleep better than them; for they could stretch out and rest, but Sakura and Nadeshiko's room was so small that they could only sit up and sleep.

However, despite the small space, Haku managed to find a corner for him to rest. He was used to sleeping in such small places, for he had even squeezed in tunnels narrower than that to steal things for Yubaba. He crept towards that small corner and sat down, trying to fall asleep. It was a bit impossible, for he was attracted to something on Sakura's wrist. It was a bracelet of intricate design, a design that he had seen before in books but it was so cunningly crafted that he thought it was just a normal bracelet if he did not look closely.

Haku somehow felt familiar with this bracelet, as if someone had shown it to him before. He touched the bracelet gently with one finger but accidentally touched Sakura. Sakura woke up immediately and looked around frantically, her eyes wide as saucers.

"Stop moving!" Haku whispered urgently.

Sakura did as he said but she was more afraid of him, for he had appeared again out of nowhere.

"Why are you here? I thought that you had disappeared with the harp?" Sakura whispered as she nudged her mother.

"What happened? Is it morning already, Sakura?" Nadeshiko asked sleepily.

"No, mother! We have the dragon with us! What should we do?"

"What? So the dragon is here, I see. I guess we have no choice but to hide him, right?" Nadeshiko smiled. "Welcome to our humble abode. I hope that you do not er...mind the stink..."

"No! It's all right. It's better than being caught by Debonair, right?"

"Yeah. What is the time now?"

Suddenly, something rang with a loud "_DDDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG_!"

"Why are we always so unfortunate to be next to the bell tower? To be shaken awake by this stupid bell! Argh!" Sakura grumbled. "Well, if you want to hide here, stay in here for the whole day. If the soldiers are here searching for you, you better run away. Or else..."

"_DDDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG_!" The bell rang again. People were stirring up and getting ready to go to work.

"Well, I guess we better go now. Remember, if soldiers are here searching for you, escape!" Nadeshiko reminded him.

"Yes, I will. I know that I am not supposed to be here, but still...well, thanks for your hospitality." Haku said.

"Well, I am sorry that I do not have food for you to eat. Even if we have food, it will be broth, so I guess you better sleep to conserve energy." Sakura said as she left her room with Nadeshiko to go for breakfast.

"The people here are sure very pitiful, living in such places and destined to die here. But...what about Nadeshiko and Sakura? I think I know them but where have I met them before?" Haku wondered as he drifted off into a fitful sleep with the song Shiroi Ryuu in his mind, and Sakura.

"Somehow, the song, Shiroi Ryuu, seems to fit Haku, for he is a white dragon after all." Sakura thought as she climbed down the stairs wearily with her mother. Life was as normal, and the only thing that was different was the Haku was not part of their lives. Now, the two of them had an extra worry. What would they do if the soldiers caught Haku in their rooms? Would they be killed?

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is to do with Clamp or any other person's creation!

Hmm...I guess that I am a bit fast here, having finished two chapitres today! I am sorry that I spelt 'soldiers' to 'solders' in the last chapitre! Forgive me, please? Review too...I will be grateful to those who did!


	8. Chapitre Seven: The Escape

**Feathers of love**

**Chapitre Seven: The Escape**

* * *

For the whole day, Haku hid in the room of Sakura and Nadeshiko. He was only dozing, and would wake up whenever he heard footsteps nearby. He was on the alert, in case the soldiers caught him. However, later when Sakura and Nadeshiko came back to sleep, they found Haku still in the room, watching them as they prepared to go to sleep. 

Sakura was still a bit nervous in front of him, but she put up a brave front as she sat down and said, "Good night, Haku and mother."

"Good night." They chorused as they went to sleep, except Haku, who was still awake, on the alert. Somehow, his senses told him that that night would not be good, as if someone was hiding and would spring out to catch him.

He was right, for later, just before dawn, the soldiers came barging into the slaves' quarters, looking for him. Unfortunately, Haku sensed sorcerers with the soldiers, which meant that he had a less chance of escaping unless he did so immediately. When Haku looked at the two sleeping forms who allowed him to hide in their room, he felt something, something like pity. He did not know why but he felt as if he should help them escape, even if he was not able to help all to do so. Thus, he shook them awake, gently, and a warning look.

The two of them were quiet as they listened to the footsteps of the soldiers coming towards the slaves' quarters. He mouthed the words 'soldiers and sorcerers are coming' and when seeing their scared faces, added 'don't worry, I am getting the three of us out'. Nadeshiko and Sakura nodded their heads and looked at where Haku was looking at the moment, the dirty wall that faced the featureless landscape. It was easily the only means of escape, for if they were to get out through the door, they would be in the way of the soldiers and sorcerers, and get caught by them.

Haku gestured with his hand, telling them to move back. He changed into his dragon form and it was of course a bit of a squeeze, but what choice did they have? Using its weight, the dragon slammed the wall with all its might. The wall gave way and a gigantic hole that was large enough for a dragon to pass.

"Hurry! If we are to go now, it has to be now! They would be alerted to this! Come on!" Nadeshiko said as she ran to the dragon.

"I'm sorry, but I guess we have to ride on your back, if that is all right?" The dragon nodded its head and both Sakura and Nadeshiko climbed onto its back. However, they were about to escape when the soldiers came. Regardless of whether they would get injured, the dragon flew out of the hole, and into the night sky. The good thing was that there were clouds for them to seek cover and thus they would not be shot that easily.

The dragon flew quickly and went to the cherry blossom tree to retrieve the harp. It changed back into its human form and approached the tree. Haku broke the spell and took the harp out of its roots.

"We have not time to stay anywhere for long. Let's go!" Haku commanded as he changed back into his dragon form, the harp he passed to Sakura. There, they went into the sky again, and into the clouds. A long time passed, before the dragon made a landing. Clearly, it was tired and it needed a rest.

"Come here." Nadeshiko said as she walked towards the dragon, where it sat down, resting and catching its breath. "To thank you for helping us escape from that dreadful place, I shall place a spell on you so that you can get home more quickly while we get back to Clow and lie low there."

Sakura watched her mother do the spell in wonder. She was not able to do such a spell. Nadeshiko closed her eyes and chanted a spell while placing a hand on the dragon's forehead. The dragon regained its energy in moments and changed back into its human form yet again.

"I'm sorry that I am not able to bring you to my country, which I have to return to Yubaba. I will not be able to protect you all from now on but please be careful, for I sense that the sorcerers are strong. Go now. Before its too late."

"Which country are we near to?" Nadeshiko asked.

"Near enough to Clow. Go. Just run the twenty miles north. If both of you are caught up, run separately, and remember, do not look back, for it will increase your fear."

"Yes. Thank you for your help."

"Yours too."

"Sayonara." Sakura and Nadeshiko said as both of them bowed low before running in the direction Haku had pointed. Then, he too, turned into his dragon form and flew towards his country, the one he called home...

* * *

A few hours later, Sakura and Nadeshiko, tired out from their run, trotted and though they were not able to run as fast as they could, they tried not to walk, for fear of being caught up by Debonair's soldiers. The sorcerers would be after Haku, no doubt but the soldiers would be after them, so they had to be on the move, until they could hide somewhere safe preferably in the house of their loyal civilians.

Unfortunately, the soldiers had the magical horses that had the speed to catch up with them and they had no choice to run away from each other in a new burst of speed as they were within the range of two miles.

"Sakura! Remember! Do not look back!" Nadeshiko shouted as she ran off, a group of soldiers after her in a direction different from Sakura. Sakura did as she had said as she ran on, not stopping at all; her fear of getting caught and punished severely kept her going.

She ran on and on, changing directions constantly, not knowing where she was in the end, for she sought shadows whenever she could and now did not know she was. She did not know how her mother was and hoped that she would not be caught. She ran on and on, until, she saw something...

She saw an ancient forest, full of age-old trees. Sakura ran into its cover, hoping that the foliage would camouflage her better as she tried to escape and on to somewhere else. Then...she came across something red and gigantic, with two small things in front. It was enormous, and she was not sure what was written on the sign, for it was so weathered that the words were very faint.

Thinking that it was the gate to her home, Clow, she ran towards it. However, she sensed something funny about it. Sakura panted as she rested for a while. She thought about going into the tunnel, which stretched as far as she could see. She looked back, and with no choice, stepped into the tunnel, and into somewhere else...

The soldiers who were after Sakura, seeing where she had went into, grinned and said to each other, "Well, I guess we need not chase her anymore. She is bound to be dead there anyway, with all the Gods she has to serve. Better go back and tell the Queen that we have lost the young one as she had gone into that tunnel herself."

"Yes. But don't you think that she would punish us?" another one said.

"Well, it's not our fault. She went into the tunnel herself...let's go." Thus, the soldiers, under this reason, went back to Debonair's palace.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the storyline and the plot!

Done! Got to go, so just to keep it short, enjoy! :D


	9. Chapitre Eight: The Rebels

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Eight: The Rebels **

* * *

"How can you let them escape??? They are already so weak and are not able to run so far, and yet you all let them escape? I have given you all these steeds so that you can catch them, and this is what I get!" Queen Debonair ranted loudly as she stared venomously at the cowering soldiers at her feet.

"Your...Your Majesty...I...it," the captain of them soldiers cleared his throat before continuing, "it was not your servants' fault that they escape, Your Majesty, for the brown haired slave escaped into the tunnel that people would not enter...for fear of the Gods' wrath and the black haired slave disappeared into thin air. Perhaps she was whisked off by some sort of monster or..."

"Or what?" Debonair narrowed her eyes into thin slits at this.

"Or...she could have escaped!" The soldier answered fearfully.

"Why did you all not chase after them? Even if they are gone, you should scour the whole place again instead of coming back to report to me!"

The captain had no choice but to answer the queen's endless questions, while he thought, "This is going to take a long time, but will I lose my life this time? I hope not."

* * *

Meanwhile, Nadeshiko had arrived, finally, into her own country, Clow. It was not easy now, even though she was already there, for there were sentries posted at the gates to keep the people of Clow out of the city. As there were not many people going into the city, it was hard for Nadeshiko to enter, for there were no crowds to mingle into and sneak her way in.

"Now, what shall I do?" Nadeshiko thought as she hid in some bushes. "How about making myself invisible and sneak in? It is a good one, though I may not be able to do a good one, since I am already tired out and I am not very good at this. Let's just hope that I can find my way back, and hope that the city was not changed from the last time I was here, so that I can go to one of my people's home and hide there." Then, she remembered something. "Alas, Fujitaka is not here with me now, or I would know where to wait for him and tell him what happened...but it is my job to protect this country, even if Fujitaka is dead, for I am still the lawful queen, a beloved one at that. Let's just hope that they do not think that I am already dead. If not, I will have a hard time convincing my people."

With that, Nadeshiko used the small reserves of magic she had left and whispered softly as she drew symbols on her clothes. The symbols were weird and Nadeshiko almost forgot how to draw them, for it was a long time since she had last drew them, for years, in fact. With the spell done, she stepped out of the bushes and looked for shadows to hide. Nope, there were none, for the country was in the desert and had only small prickly bushes like the one she had hidden in and no shadows at all. Though there were no shadows to hide her better, she was lucky enough that there was wind blowing, which meant that her footsteps she had made would be blown away very quickly, and if people were to search for her, it would not be as easily.

Nadeshiko walked quietly and slowly, always on the alert in case something would disrupt her when she was walking. Sometimes, mice would scamper across the desert and she had to stop moving abruptly and move a step back. If not, the mice would perhaps start to go over to her and look for food that may have dropped out of her pocket, which she had none at all. While waiting for the mice to move to its destination, she noticed that the mice had been thinner than usual, which meant that her people were probably not as well too. The mice had always been a sign when the people were suffering, for the food would be guarded more closely by the people and the mice would have a harder time getting enough to eat. It was always this way, for this was the way of the desert, you either survive or you die.

It took her a long time to reach the gates and when she did, she realized that the sun was going to set soon, which meant she had to get into the city fast and find a place to hide lest the sentries caught her when she was too tired to be able to maintain the spell. Besides, she was starting to feel a bit worn out and she needed food and water- fast.

Nadeshiko checked the environment around her. It was this crucial moment and if the sentries found out that she was nearby, she would be dead soon. She realized that the wind was not as strong and there was barely sand for her to walk. Which meant that she was going to walk on cobbles that were hot with the heat of the sun. She was already tired out after running and walking and her bare feet were starting to bleed after the whole journey. She had to be careful. However, Nadeshiko realized that the cobbles were in one way or another, a bit red with what looked like blood, so she was able to walk like she could. Nadeshiko also noticed that the sentries had no magical powers too. With that in mind, she carefully walked past the gates and into the city of Clow. She walked and walked, until she was in front of one of her most trusted people's home. It was the home of her friend, a general who looked after the matters of war for here country before it fell. She knew that it was his home, for she saw his sign, his small sign so complicated she no one could draw, except him.

With a trembling hand, Nadeshiko knocked on the door in a manner. A tap and a slam on the door three times, their secret signal that they had used when Clow was under attack. She waited patiently for the door to be opened. It did, and the person she saw was a young man, taller than her, with dark hair, who was frowning at the apparently empty street.

"Who's there?" he barked.

"It's me, Touya, your mother." Nadeshiko whispered as she snuck into the house before removing her invisibility. The inhabitants looked shocked to see her. One person especially.

"Nadeshiko?" he asked as he stepped out of the shadows. Upon hearing his voice, Nadeshiko's eyes filled with tears as she ran towards him, hands outstretched, crying out softly. "Fujitaka! My love!"

"I thought that you had died after such a long time!"

"Me too! And look at you, all worn out! So do Touya!"

"Yes, we are so, and so do you."

"I have to tell you things, things that are very important, and I think that it will take some time." Nadeshiko had stopped crying as she wiped away her tears.

"Where is Sakura, mother dear?" Touya asked, finally out of his shock.

At this, Nadeshiko started crying. "Please, do not interrupt me as I am going to tell you this story. And you will have to tell me yours too."

"Yes, we will. However, we have to be silent for people will be patrolling about the moment the gate closes." The general, now looking quite old said.

"Yes, I will."

With that, they talked about what happened and what they were going to do so that they could stage a revolt and save Clow, for Fujitaka, Touya and the general were already rebels, and so were other people. They would revolt and save their countries and after that, they would help to save the other countries under Debonair's control and together, they would Debonair, and Nova...

* * *

The soldiers sent to find back Sakura and Nadeshiko were to be killed for not completing their jobs efficiently and another group was to be sent out to search for them, and the only problem was who to lead the whole group...

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the story plot!

Yeah! I have finished this chapitre! How is it? Hopw you enjoyed it! I am very sorry for not updating after a few days for I have some holiday homework that took my attention away from typing this fanfic. I'll try to update as soon as possible! However, please do not think that I am going to give up on this fanfiction just because I did not update for a long time- it is because exams are coming soon. I will update as much as I can the moment exams are over, all right? Please do wait patiently for new updates, all right? Also, read Angelic Destiny too!


	10. Chapitre Nine: The Queen

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Nine: The Queen**

* * *

The queen sighed as she sat down heavily on her throne. Four years had passed and there was still no sign of her son. It was difficult for her to search for her son by herself, for she needed her magical powers to defend her country against Debonair and her army. For many years, she had held against Debonair and she only just managed to do so. If she were to set her attention somewhere else, her country would be captured by Debonair. Thus, she was not able to search for her son.

It was already difficult for her to govern her country since her husband's death, and she would do so until her son was of age, that was, before he was captured. Now, she had to depend on her four daughters, Fuutie, Shiefa, Fanren and Feimei and their husbands to race and be the first to produce a male heir, in no particular order, as long as there was a heir to inherit the throne.

"Why must life be so hard for me?" Queen Yelen thought to herself. "It is not as if I have done anything to cause Syaoran to be caught by Yubaba. It is not my fault at all!" This was what she had thought all day, all night, day in, day out. Her son. The only heir to the throne who was caught by Yubaba.

Luckily, at that moment, her four daughters came into the throne room. They were back with their husbands from different missions and they had to report to their mother, the queen.

"Good evening, mother dear!" Fuutie, Shiefa, Fanren and Feimei chorused. "Why are you not at the dining hall eating dinner with the others? The cook has told us about this."

"No, I just have no appetite, that's all." Yelen smiled weakly at her children.

Fuutie frowned. "You must be thinking of Syaoran again, aren't you?"

Yelen sighed. "Yes, I am thinking about him. After all, it has been four years since he had disappeared."

"We know, mother." Feimei said as she went to her, arms outstretched as she went to hug her mother. "We know that you want to search for him, but you can't. We also know that it has been four years since he was captured and today is the day that he was captured. We know that you are missing him and everything. However, mother, you should remember that our country is important too. You have to remember that if you collapse, what will happen? Our people will suffer and you know that we four sisters are not able to protect the country without your help." Feimei went back to stand next to her sisters as she released herself from her mother.

"I know, I know." Yelen said sadly. "So, how were your missions?"

"I'll start first then." Shiefa volunteered.

"Yes, your mission is to look for those who are in missions, and have things to report back. Did you bring whatever they had asked you to?"

"Yes, mother. I have quite a lot of information that are useful to us, especially from the spies, and some gossip that I heard from the people of Deboanir's country when I walked disguised among them with my hubby. What interests me most is that recently, Yubaba went to Debonair's palace with someone called Haku. I think that it is Syaoran for they say that he can change to a dragon. However, I am not very sure. But I have heard that the dragon has stolen the harp that Debonair has been trying to search for for a long time. It seems that the dragon had also escaped with two women, one with brown hair and the other with black hair. I am not sure of their names but I believe that they are slaves, for their clothing, according to the people, are in tatters."

"Thank you, dear." Yelen listened to what Shiefa had to say, which was quite a lot. "Fanren, you next."

"Yes, mother. My mission is to of course, search for possible areas where we can make our defense stronger. I have realized that many areas are in need of more defense and I believe that they can be better, for I realized that even though, for now, Debonair had not realized that there are areas that she can effectively flush us out, I have already found them and my husband and I have started to deploy more people to go there and repair the fortresses and also to protect the places there. I think that the works are half-way done, if I am not wrong."

"Me next!" Feimei said.

"All right."

"I was supposed to look for places where we can penetrate Debonair's palace without putting our army into any trouble and I found out that there is a staircase used by slaves and servants and it is very good for us, for I have found the entrance and we can start our small attacks from there. The entrance is near our borders and it stretches across the whole country, which means we can start taking the small villages and towns first before attacking the larger ones. Plus, the place is not guarded and it has signs where each place leads. A good one for us."

"Hmm...a good one. However, we can only send small armies into the place each time, not more than a hundred, for fear of being found out if too many people congregate there. Good. This is the best news I have had all day after all the petitions." Queen Yelen smiled. "Fuutie?"

"I know that my job is the most important of all. And the good news is, we have more people who are willing to take up arms and protect our country now. I have sent the first batch of soldiers to their hometowns to teach the civilians there. The best ones, of course. I told them to teach everyone, even young children, so that they can protect themselves. Of course, we must drill in the message that it is only for Debonair's army that we harm and not our own people. They are very happy that they finally have something to do so that they can protect the country, from what I gather from the first reports I receive."

"Good. I guess we will have more defenders in time. Now, why don't you all go and eat? After all, you have just come back and you are probably hungry. Go on. I'll be down soon myself."

"Yes mother." Yelen's four daughters answered in unison as they went to the dining hall.

When they left, Yelen started reading the book that Shiefa had left with on her table. However, she could not read anything and she was a bit tired of this war. The war that had caused so many people to die and suffer. It was dragging on and on and she knew that she would not have the strength to protect the country any more soon.

Thinking about what Shiefa had said, about a dragon bringing two slaves out of the palace, she hoped that they were Syaoran, Sakura and Nadeshiko, for if they were not who she had thought would be, she would be sad and she had to be strong.

"My son, where is your cherry blossom? Have you found her yet? Have you remembered who your father is and what he did? Have you remembered what your fate is?" Yelen thought as she closed her eyes. Life was painful, but she had to live on. If it was not for herself, it was for her people, for her country. For that, she had to live on, to carry on the job of protecting this country until either her son returned or a heir born and until of age to carry her burden. It was not easy, but she would do her best.

She did not go down to dinner in the end, despite her daughters pleas.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot!

Well, how is this chapitre? I have finished it and what do you think? Please review and also read Angelic Destiny! Ja!


	11. Chapitre Ten: The Princess

**Feathers of Love **

**Chapitre Ten: The Princess**

* * *

"Mother! Why can't I go after the three of them themselves?" Princess Nova whined. "It has been a long time since I was out! And the last time I went out, it was only a hunting trip, and we had to come back earlier because there was important news back at the palace! Mother, please?"

"No." Queen Debonair stood up from the chair in front of her dresser. "Why must you go out? It is not anything of importance at all, unless you want them to sing for you. The soldiers can search for them."

"But mother, the HARP is not with us now! It is somewhere outside, unless you have forgotten about it?"

"I remember the harp! Now give me a moment's silence!" Debonair snapped. Nova fell silent, wishing fervently that her mother would let her go and search for the trio AND for the harp. Chances like this did not come by often and she had learnt to pounce on them.

Finally, Debonair said, "Are you sure you want to go out and search for the harp and the three of them? The soldiers are not able to find them, must less find the harp too. Are you sure? Because if you are to go, you will have to travel light and leave behind all the comforts."

"Mother, of course I want to go! I think that the harp is in that godforsaken land that Yubaba has! The soldiers dare not go in, for fear of offending the Gods, but what do I have to lose? I can go there and make them think that I am there for a visit, while at night I search for the harp. Isn't that simple?"

"I know that it is simple for you, but can you manage? You will disappear after sometime if you do not eat something from there, which I think you will not. I know that the food is not to our taste, but..."

"But what, mother?"

"...I'll still forbid you to go. My decision is final.''

"Why?"

"Unless you have forgotten the customs of that country? No! I will not let you to go! Now leave me!"

"Fine! If that is what you wish!" Nova shouted as she stomped out of the Queen's royal chambers, and back to her rooms.

Once back in her rooms, Princess Nova dismissed her slaves and servants and thought of what she could do. Well, for one, she could escape and go and search for the harp, and the missing people. Two, she could beg her mother until she relents. Those were the only options that she could come up of. Not that there were many options.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to escape this place and search for them. It won't be easy, being the hunter and the hunted, but it will have to do. Unless I want to wait until mother relents, though I can go whenever I want, I also have to live among a group of stinky soldiers, which I absolutely do not wish to." She said to no one in particular. "The only bad thing is that I will have to walk and not use magic or borrow a steed. This may take a long time for me to reach the country, but I can always bring with me a map and a compass. That way, I would not get lost that easily."

With everything planned out, Nova prepared her luggage. She would bring two sets of riding clothes that she could change, her sword, a map, a compass, some food, a water bottle that she would refill later and some money. She would have to leave behind all the finer things that she would like to bring, but that was all that she could bring, unless she wanted to burden herself.

"Tonight, I'll enjoy myself and I will leave the palace when the soldiers change shift. That is what I will do. I will get whatever I need when I need them."

So, for the rest of the day, she spent a long time at her bath, ate rich food that she knew she would not eat for some time, or for the time being, and after dinner, she retreated back to her rooms and took out the map from her bag, which she had hidden it so that her servants would not find them when they were cleaning her rooms. Nova looked at her map and searched for the most appropriate route to take that would take her directly to Yubaba's country. She did not want to be recognized that easily and opted for roads that were used occasionally by people.

Later, when the whole of the palace was quiet, save for the sounds made by the soldiers when they were patrolling the whole of the palace, she got up and quietly, dressed in her riding clothes. It took her some time for her to dress up, for there were many layers of clothing and many minute hooks and buttons. She cursed silently at herself for asking her mother for these fashionable clothes in the past. Now, it was only bringing her trouble, but she managed to dress up in the end. She went to her wardrobe and took out a pair of simple riding boots, and wore them, while making her way to the place where her bag was hidden.

Princess Nova tied her long hair into a ponytail with a ribbon and she was ready to go. She stepped out of the door, where she made her way down the many stairs and tried to hide in the shadows whenever she could. Finally, after many times where she was almost caught by the soldiers, she was at one of the small side gates that were hidden from view. She took out the key, one that opened all the same kind of gates and slipped through.

Then, Princess Nova was not a princess anymore, for the moment. She was a girl ready to search for the harp and the three people. She was free to do whatever she wanted, provided her mother's soldiers did not find her.

Nova set off towards the horizon.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything at all, so please do not sue me, for I am only the owner of this story's plot.

Yeah! This one done too? I thought that I would only finish Angelic Destiny today only. But I cannot believe that I have finished this chapitre too! Well, I think I better get back to my studying, so I may not be able to upload another one for the next two weeks or so...well, I can try...


	12. Chapitre Eleven: The City

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Eleven: The City**

* * *

Sakura walked what seemed like a long time to her, fingering the only thing other than the clothes on her back that she had. Her bracelet. She was very nervous, for she had never been so far from her mother before, and it was terrifying, for the whole place was silent as a tomb, save for the sound of her footsteps. Sakura remembered that when she was in the woods just now, she realized that there were no animals around, except the trees and the entrance to the tunnel. The forest was also silent, as if something bad would be happening to her if she stayed in the woods. However, she had no choice, for if she were not to enter the tunnel, the soldiers would have caught her already and she did not have enough magical powers to protect herself. So, the best bet would be to enter the tunnel and see what it brought her to.

Finally, Sakura reached the end of the tunnel and saw a gigantic and empty room that contained lots of benches. Since she had no idea what it was, she made her way to the exit of the room, which was at the other end. She stepped out of it and was surprised to hear some sounds- a sort of whistling. Startled, Sakura turned back and saw the board that proclaimed the name of the place- a train station.

"So this is a train station." Sakura thought as she fingered her bracelet yet again. "Mother has told me about this before but I do not believe that a train station has such a long tunnel. Wait, I thought mother did not mention a tunnel at all? But by the looks of it, it seems very old, for the paint is peeling and there are cracks...however, I find it beautiful."

She looked at the distance. Where she could hear the sound of whistling again. "It must be a train, and mother did mention before that trains make a whistling sound." Sakura saw a green field that was dotted with something. On closer inspection, Sakura was surprised to see the two small figures again. They looked the same, except that they were in different sizes. There were also a few buildings that looked so old that they could be ready to fall apart, even though Sakura saw that they were not as old as the train station itself. She stared at the buildings and statues for a long time before continuing her way, feeling uneasy.

After walking for some time, Sakura she came across a place with humongous rocks, some were even bigger than her! Water was trickling its way among the rocks towards the distance. Sakura decided to rest there or a while before continuing her way, since she was still panting a bit, tired out from her run. She climbed over the rocks and continued her way.

Just then, she spotted something big- buildings cluttered together. It was a city! But... "Gosh! How come there is nobody in this city? A ghost city? What is that? Food?" Sakura thought as she smelt the air. The smell was enticing, and she made her way towards it. She saw a lot of food piled up in great platters, as if the food was waiting to be served to some people. The only problem was that she was not able to see anybody cooking the food and nobody was there, eating. She shuddered as she felt something odd about it.

Then, she decided to continue her way in search of somewhere to rest her weary body. She traveled for a long time, before coming across a bridge. She looked down at it and saw something.

"Is it a train?" Sakura thought as she stared at it. She could not remember anything about how trains looked, and thus had no idea. "I think that it is a train, for it is whistling again."

After a while, she looked up again and stared into a pair of piercing sienna eyes. Sakura looked shocked as she tried to stammer, "...H...Haku?"

"Leave this place! Leave and get back across the river before it gets dark! Go! I will hold them for a while! Run!"

"What are you saying? Can you please explain to me?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded.

"We have no time for explanations! Now go!" Haku warned as he gave her a shove towards the direction that she had come from. Sakura, feeling alarmed by his warning, began running quickly while Haku blew a mysterious spell.

As she ran, the lights came on and she saw all sorts of dark ghostly shops in the buildings. She gave an involuntarily shudder as she sped up yet faster. However, as she had not eaten for the whole day, she tired out easily, and soon, she could not run any faster than before.

"I hate ghosts and I will outrun them! I will!" Sakura intoned as she ran towards the river. She managed to do so and started to run into the river, thinking that the rocks would still be there. However, she felt wetness, and with her trembling hand, she touched slowly at something wet near her knees. The river had filled up by itself! She went back towards the riverbed, where she curled up into a ball, muttering all the while.

"Now what am I going to do? I hate ghosts! Is this a dream? Will I wake up at Debonair's palace to the sounds of the bell?" Sakura thought frantically. "It _must_ be a dream! I have not run away, have I? It is just a common dream that I always have, isn't it?"

Sakura pinched herself at her cheeks, hoping that pain would bring her back to reality. However, it did not happen as she hoped so. She sneaked a look at her hands, and saw that she was starting to disappear!

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the lit up train station. She could never see her mother anymore, and that was true, for she was going to disappear at this mysterious forever. Sakura heard a sound, and saw that a ferry had docked nearby and strange figures disembarked. Through her tears, she could not see who these figures were, but she could tell that they were the ghosts that she had met.

Footsteps sounded nearby, and Sakura heard it. With her heart pounding, she looked at the person...

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except this story plot.

Done! How is it? Hope you liked it! Please review! Will try to update soon! Ja!


	13. Chapitre Twelve: The Bathhouse

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Twelve: The Bathhouse**

* * *

"I guess that you had not managed to cross the river after all...I think that I am not strong enough to stop them...well, are you all right? We have to get away from here as soon as possible, as Yubaba is searching for you now." That person stepped out of the shadows and took a long hard look at Sakura.

"What is happening to me? Why am I disappearing?" Sakura cried out as she tried to grab at Haku's hand. "Tell me! Haku! Tell me the truth!" She was shocked to see that her hand passed through him, and her fear of disappearing into thin air rose.

Haku noticed this too, and he gently shushed her, squatting at the same time. "Now Sakura, I know that you do not trust the food that the Gods eat here, but you have to eat something from here, or else, you will disappear forever!"

Sakura's eyes widened. "Are you sure? Those figures that I saw were Gods? I thought that they were ghosts!" she whispered.

"Now, it won't be good when the Gods find out that you call them ghosts! Forget about them at the moment!" Haku produced something small from his pocket. It was a tiny pill. "Eat this, Sakura. Eat this and I will bring you to Kamajii so that you can get a job. All people who come here not working will be turned into pigs and this will not be good on you."

Sakura stared at him, not knowing what to do. Then, she finally opened her mouth and Haku popped the pill into Sakura's mouth. After some time, she gradually returned back to normal, and she could touch Haku when she touched his hand. "Thank you," she said.

"We do not have time to talk now, we have to leave. Can you stand?" he asked as she stood up, Sakura still next to him.

"What is happening? I can't move!" Sakura struggled.

"Yubaba!" Haku cursed. "We really have to go now, for she knows that you are here." He chanted a spell and Sakura was suddenly able to stand up. Haku half-pulled and half-ran, trying to bring Sakura to somewhere else where she would get to Kamajii easily without being caught. It was hard, for the moment they began running, something appeared in the sky. It was a gigantic bird with a smaller one flying around. Both of them had heads instead of the normal heads of birds and they were blue in colour.

"Don't look up. Yubaba is searching for you and she is the bigger bird while the other one is a pet of Yubaba's, one that usually flies with her during the days. As I have said, they are searching for you."

"So, what should I do?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"Nothing, except run and try to get to Kamajii as soon as possible. Kamajii would ask you not to bother him as he had enough workers but you must persist. He will send you to Yubaba afterwards and you have to do the same, if not, Yubaba will turn you into a pig."

"Oh."

The two of them continued running, not talking anymore to save their breaths. The two of them went down a spiral staircase made of wood, and it was dangerous, for there was not a single handle for them to hold if they lost their balance. Looking down, Sakura saw the train that she had seen earlier travel past in its railways.

They reached the bottom of the stairs safely and opened the door labeled 'The Boiler Room'. Haku opened the door for Sakura and the two of them entered the room. It was stifling hot in there and there was a gigantic furnace at the other end of the room, where some tiny creatures were lugging coal and dropping them into the mouth of the furnace. Upon closer inspection, Sakura saw that the creatures were in different sizes and were soot-black in colour, with very tiny arms and legs.

However, she could not look at the creatures for long as Haku was clearing his throat as he walked towards a man with six limbs. The man looked up from what he was doing and smiled a thin smile.

"Whatever brings you here, Master Haku?" he asked.

"Master Haku?" Sakura thought incredulously.

"And who is that young lady with you?"

Sakura heard this and immediately, asked, "Sir, could you please give me a job? I really need one, please?"

Kamajii looked surprised but he said, "No."

"Why ever not? I am very hardworking and I can do all sorts of manual labour. I can do anything, and I will be able to it! Please, can I have a job?"

"NO. Besides, a human child is useless to us. I have enough workers which can be easily replaced and they can do the work for me." Kamajii answered. "Susuwatari! Get back to work or else you will be turned back into soot! You don't want that, do you?" he barked.

Sakura glanced at Haku and he seemed speechless, shrugging that he had no idea what to do next. However, he mouthed the words, 'keep bugging him, then I can bring you to Yubaba'. Sakura nodded her head.

"Sir! Can you please give me a job? I really need one!" Sakura whined, which was what she hated but she had to do it, for fear of not getting a job. "Please? I really need one and I will do whatever you ask me to!"

Kamajii did not answer and instead looked at a place at the bottom of the room, where it had opened and a girl poked her head, looking at Kamajii before noticing the presence of Haku and Sakura.

"Rin, bring me my dinner." Kamajii said as he went back to his work.

"Why is this human girl here? She is the one Yubaba is searching for!" Rin narrowed her eyes. "Good evening, Master Haku." She greeted after saying this to Kamajii.

"She is my granddaughter. Now, can you please get her to Yubaba's room? She needs a job and I am counting on you."

"No. I will absolutely not do that!" Rin protested.

"Unless you do not want this? Rin?" Kamajii picked up something from his meal. A newt. "Do this for me and you will get this..."

"Oh, all right!" Rin grumbled as she snatched the newt from Kamajii. "You, follow me. As for Master Haku, Yubaba is searching for you too."

Haku nodded his head and made his way out of the boiler room and Sakura followed Rin to the door from where she had entered the boiler room.

"Er...Rin, what is this place?" Sakura asked.

"Are you stupid of what? This is the bathhouse called Aburaya, and Yubaba owns this place! Now, follow me and be quiet."

"Yes, Rin." Sakura said as she fingered her bracelet yet again. She followed her into the unknown new world that she, Sakura might have to call her new home...

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, just the story plot.

I will change the plot of this story gradually, so don't worry! This is just the beginning of the story! So, the plot is bound to be a little bit the same. So this answers your questions, sweet-little-girl! I know that my exams are starting in two days but I think that this is the way for me to perhaps, prepare myself for my English exam, which I hope that I will ace it, though I am not very sure. However, I will try my best! So, please do not worry if you do not see me update for more than one week! New chapters will be up almost everyday after the exams, I hope, but I also have camp for three days, which means I might not update for say, around two weeks. I will try to make up for it! Don't worry! Please review! And ja!


	14. Chapitre Thirteen: The Boss

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Thirteen: The Boss**

* * *

"Now, since it is already dark, you have no choice to go and see Yubaba yourself, since I am busy and I cannot take you there. However, I can tell you where to go, but you will have to ask Yubaba for a job unless you want to be turned into a pig and then killed to be served as food to the Gods." Rin muttered as she took Sakura towards a series of corridors, past many sorts of people and rooms that contained what looked to be monsters but were in fact the Gods that Rin had mentioned.

"Stop staring at them! The Gods will not be pleased." Rin hissed as she took a look behind to see that Sakura was still following her. Satisfied to see Sakura nod her head, Rin turned back to her task. She did not speak to Sakura for some time, since she was being greeted by who seemed to be her friends who worked at the bathhouse too.

She met a group of friends as she reached an elevator. "Take this elevator to go to the top level. You will meet Yubaba there." Rin muttered.

"Oh there you are Rin! I was wondering where you have gone! You are needed at the boiler room, as Kamajii seems to need your help." One of the female workers greeted her as she pressed the elevator button.

"Is it? Well, I better get going then. Thank for letting me know about this, or else I would get punished..." Rin started but was interrupted by another of her friends. "Hey! Why do you have such a strong stench?" the worker stood closer and sniffed at Rin. "Human stench too!"

"Is it? Well, I guess you are wrong." Rin said as she gestured at Sakura, who was hiding behind Rin, frantically behind her back as she heard the elevator's approach.

"How can we be wrong? You are the one who is wrong! It is human stench and we know it! Now where is that human? Hmm?" the ladies asked. Rin opened her eyes wide, trying to look innocent.

"Me? With a human? As if! If that is the case, would I still be here?" The elevator arrived with a 'ding' and it opened automatically. "Well, since the elevator is here already, I guess I better get going. See you all around!"

"Ok. Bye!" Rin pulled at a lever and the door snapped shut.

"Whew! That was close! It better be worth it, or else I will find Kamajii and deal with him myself!" Rin muttered. "Now Sakura, you are to go to Yubaba's place yourself- you heard them, I still have my job to do; if not, I will be punished, all right?"

Sakura, who had kept silent since they had left the boiler room opened her mouth finally and said a word, "Arigato." and bowed. Rin nodded her head as Sakura continued, "I will try my best and I will do whatever Yubaba requests of me, just so that I can leave this place."

"That...that will be a bit impossible, unless..."

"Unless what?" Sakura asked as the elevator came to a halt. "Can you please tell me?"

"Sorry. I have to go. Good luck." Rin pushed Sakura out of the elevator and pulled the level again. The door of the elevator snapped shut again and disappeared from Sakura's view.

"Well, I guess I have to try my best then." She thought as she looked behind her. There was nothing much there except some simple designs but they looked very elegant. However, Sakura did not notice those designs. She was looking the door. The door that separated her from Yubaba and whatever that was beyond. She stepped towards the door tentatively, and reached for the doorknob.

However, before she could touch the door, it swung open to reveal several other doors that looked similar. "Why aren't you asking me to open instead of you opening? You are so rude!" someone cried out in an angry voice.

Sakura startled. She looked around and saw that there was nobody around. "Erm...are you speaking to me, madam?" She asked the door quietly, whom she had deduced was a female since the door was speaking in a woman's voice.

"Who else? You didn't see anybody around, did you?" the door answered back.

"Oh." Sakura said as she stood there, her fear taking the better of her.

"Are you going in or not? If not, I am going to close," the door sighed. "Do you know that you are just like the others who came here, standing here instead of going in? I am tired of this life, this life with no one to speak to, except the occasional guests who come here to visit Yubaba. The others just ignore me. And now you too! My, my, my life is a pretty boring one at that..."

"Oh! Sorry to make you sad! I'll go in right this moment! If I am able in the future, perhaps I can visit you and talk to you. How about that?"

"Thanks for offering, but if you are here asking for a job, I think that you will not be coming up here anymore, that is, if you get the job. However, even if you get the job, you will not be coming up here anymore, no one ever does..."

"I am so sorry..."

"No! Don't you ever feel sorry for me! I will be all right!"

Sakura nodded her head and she went in, hoping that her visit with Yubaba could not be so bad as the door had described. The door closed behind her as she went into the home of Yubaba. She walked in and saw that Yubaba was at a table, sitting down and counting coins. If she gave any inclination that she had noticed Sakura's presence, she ignored her. Sakura kept silent and waited, and waited. She waited for a long time before someone came in and interrupted the silence.

It was Haku.

Sakura's eyes went wide when she saw him. But she remained silent, and hoped that Yubaba would notice her. However, it was Haku whom Yubaba had noticed.

"So, have you found the human yet, Haku?" Yubaba asked, her eyes still looking at the sums she was doing.

"She is right here, waiting for you."

"Oh, is it? Then I guess I did not notice." Yubaba turned her attention to Sakura, and her eyes narrowed when she saw who Sakura was. "Why are you here? I thought that you enjoy living and working at Debonair's palace?"

"No, madam, I do not like living at Debonair's palace." Sakura started and then lowered her voice. "I hate living there. Thus, I escaped and came here accidentally."

"I assume that you want work. Convince me."

"Well, I can do all sorts of work: cooking, cleaning the place...anything, anything you ask for, as long as you give me a job..."

"Why do I want you when you are but a mere weakling, one who is a human some more! Humans are so weak that they cannot do anything without complaining! Are you sure you are up to the job?"

"Yes! I am up to the job!" Sakura answered as she gave a pleading look at Haku, who was standing behind Yubaba's chair.

She did not know what Haku did, but at that next moment, something flew out of a drawer and towards Sakura, with a quill alongside.

"Sign your name there and you will be starting your job, immediately!"

"Yes, madam." Sakura hastily signed the document and waited.

"From now on, I am your boss and you will work with Rin to clean up the tubs. If you complain just one word, you will be turned into a pig! Your new name will be, let's see...Sen then! Your name Sakura is too fanciful! Now get out of my sight!" Yubaba ordered as Sakura went out of Yubaba's room, with a new name and a job. Sen.

* * *

Yeah! A chapitre completed! Well, technically, my exams are not over yet but since I am a bit bored from studying, I have typed this chapitre out. I guess you all have been waiting for a long time, so...enjoy! I guess I better go back and study now...haiz.


	15. Chapitre Fourteen: The Traveler

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Fourteen: The Traveler**

* * *

She wiped her brow with her hands and continued her way. Since she had sneaked out the palace, she had walked the whole way, towards where she believed was the place where Yubaba lived. Unfortunately, she did not have a horse with her, or she would have traveled faster, but under the circumstances, she did not do that, since she was afraid that the clopping of a horse would attract the attention of the soldiers. Also, she did not want to use magic in case she attracted the attention of her mother, the queen, and if she were to locate her, Nova would be brought back and then reprimanded by her mother, severely. That would be the end of all her freedom, she assumed.

With a sigh, Nova continued her monotonous plodding before her rest at noon. There was nothing much to see: green trees that had started appearing before her eyes gave her no interest, though they were the only things that were to be seen after traveling a great distance. Nova took out her map and chanced a look, to see if she was at the correct route or not. Then, she found out that she was talking the long way, not the shorter way, which meant that she would have to walk round the whole country before she was at the entrance.

She continued her journey without making any changes to it, for she was afraid that she would be lost if she did so. Instead of resting and eating her lunch under a tree's shade, she took out her food and ate it as she walked, only pausing to fill up her water bottle from a stream that was nearby. She continued her way until the sky became dark, and it was time to make camp.

It was monotonous: waking up, walking, eating, drinking, and making camp, sleep. There was no change to her way of traveling too. However, at the sixth day, she reached another forest, but this one was smaller and she could sense magical auras emitting from it. It was so strong that she could sense it even if she was a very long way off, where the forest was just a tiny speck in the distance. She was lucky, for if she had not reached the forest by the end of that day, she would have nothing to eat, and would have to live on without food until she reached the place.

Nova knew how to enter the country, and she looked at the sky: it was afternoon but she would have to hurry, if not, night would fall. She walked quickly into the forest, and towards the place where the aura was the strongest, and there she was, the entrance to the country where she was supposed to steal the harp and find the white dragon named Haku. She would also have to find the girl Sakura, but that was a different matter, for she would locate her when she found the dragon and the harp. She entered the country, and out towards the great stones that showed where the river was. She climbed her way towards the other end, where she could see some buildings that were very different from the décor of her country. However, she must not slow down, for night was going to fall soon.

However, before she could reach the town, she ran into someone. That someone commanded, "This is not the place for you to loiter around. Please go back the way you came, night is falling and it is not safe."

Nova looked up in surprise. It was Haku. He was wearing something different from what her had worn, or was it the same? Nova wondered. But, she noticed that Haku was still as handsome as she had thought. She was a bit worried though, for Haku was frowning slightly, while his left hand was curled up into a ball.

"I guess that you have forgotten about me after all, Mister Haku. In case you have forgotten, my name is Nova. Any recollections?"

"Please go back. We do not have time, and if Yubaba comes back, you will be sought after. Unless you want to be turned into a pig and then killed for food for the visiting Gods." Haku added.

Upon hearing this, Nova shuddered, but she squared her shoulders and said, "I insist that you take me to Yubaba right this minute, Mister Haku. I have something of importance to discuss with her."

"I'm sorry, but Yubaba is not in today. Would you like me to give her a message? If so, please tell me or write it down. After which, can you please leave? This country is not safe when you are here during nighttime, even though most of the people working here are safer, but to people who do not have a job, I suggest you leave this place right after you give your message to me." Haku answered.

"However, you are wrong, for I really have matters of importance to speak to her and not to anyone else. Now, if you please."

"I'm really sorry, but you leave me to no choice, so I guess I will just have to do it the hard way."

"What? Force me out of this country? No way! I will NOT do as you say!" Nova looked at Haku sternly as she walked past him and towards the town. Before she could go a few steps, Haku muttered a spell. Nova, who anticipated it, countered it with another one. This went on for some time until the sound of someone running towards the two of them was heard.

"Stop what the two of you are doing right this moment!" Sen yelled at the top of her voice. She was ignored by Haku and Nova, both of whom intent on fighting their battle. With no choice, Sen reached deep from her source of magic and then muttered a spell, stopping the two people in front of her from fighting. Taking a deep breath, Sen continued, "Master Haku, Yubaba is looking for you to do something for her. As for you, Your Highness, please do leave this place now. The river is filling up and if you do not leave now, you will not be able to do so until the next day. And by then, you would have disappeared from the surface of the earth forever. Unless, like me, you want a job too. But I doubt Yubaba would want to hire you, after what had happened when she hired me."

The two people looked at Sen dumbly while the first load of guests started entering the country, hoping to enjoy themselves for the night...

* * *

I am so sorry that I have not updated for such a long time! I did not know how to continue, for I was in a dilemma on choosing whether to continue Sakura's part of the story or Nova's and Yelen's part. Forgive me! Now that I know, please continue to enjoy this fanfiction and also remember to review! I will try to update as soon as possible, since holidays has started already.


	16. Chapitre Fifteen: The Planning

**Feathers of Love **

**Chapitre Fifteen: The Planning**

* * *

Nadeshiko and Fujitaka had finished their stories, and both of them were too moved to cry any much except look at each other's eyes. In each of their eyes, both of them could see the pain and anguish that they had felt when they thought that they had lost each other, but unfortunately, what worried them most was that Sakura was not back with them yet.

The general refilled some cups that were empty with tea and looked at everyone. "Your Majesties, Your Highness, I guess it is time to discuss how to unite the country of Clow. We have been planning on how to unite the other countries together but not how on uniting the people of our country yet. If we can plan it well, then we will have a better chance of sending out the message to other countries, and that would be better, as Debonair would have a harder time controlling the countries."

Touya interrupted. "Yes, that seems like a great plan. But how are we going to execute it if we have planned it already? How do we send messages to the people without making ourselves known? Should we just send the messages to loyal subjects and ask them to pass the message to the people? Or we go to the peoples' houses and tell them personally?"

"I know that it is going to be difficult, but I think that it will not be impossible, Your Highness, we just need to be more careful in the spreading of message."

Fujitaka nodded his head. "Yes. We have to be more careful, or else everything would be for nothing. Any ideas, General?"

The General nodded his head. He had some ideas up his sleeve. "Well, we can come up with some sort of commotion with the people we know who we can trust and then get them arrested. But," He added hastily when he saw the looks of horror on the Royal family's faces. "we will free them when we come up with a lie saying that a group of ladies want to visit their family members and give the guards food the is drugged. That way, the captured citizens can get free. Through this huge, if possible, riot or commotion, we can use the time given to us by our loyal subjects to let the whole town know about what we are planning through the means of magic. But we will not use a lot, or we may attract the attention of sorcerers or magicians on the side of Debonair and cause them to come over to investigate the whole matter."

"Yes, this is a good plan. So the main objective is to attract all the soldiers and guards in this city to the commotion. But," Touya continued. "This would attract the attention of Debonair. If that is the case, what can we do?"

"If that is the case," Nadeshiko said. "I hope that we can take back this city and then, if possible, with the help of Sakura, try to defeat Debonair."

The others nodded their heads. This is what they could come up with at the moment. However, with careful planning, they believed that they could make it even better. Besides, even if they we to finish discussing this plan, they still had to plan other things, what who should do when staging the revolt. That would be important. Fujitaka hoped that when the capital city of Clow was recaptured, Nadeshiko could try to send messages to the other leaders of the other countries and unite together to fight Debonair. That would be the greatest plan of all, if they managed to recapture the city.

* * *

That night, Nadeshiko rested her tired body on a bed, and fell asleep very quickly. However, she did not have a very good night, for in her dreams, she searched aimlessly for her daughter, still missing and out in the world, with no hope of survival if Debonair's soldiers recaptured her. Sakura would suffer and then she would be forced to tell Debonair the location of her mother._What if..._

_What if Sakura is caught by Debonair? What if we do not manage to recapture the city and then unite with the other countries?_

_What if..._

_What if..._

_What if........................................_

Nadeshiko shifted her body restlessly as she slept, unconsciously thinking about things.

_What if..._

In her dreams, Nadeshiko saw something appear. She turned towards it and saw that it was someone she knew.

_Clow-sama! It has been a long time since I have heard from you... _Nadeshiko cried out.

_Yes, how are you, my dear descendant's wife? I know that you have a lot of questions to ask me...but alas, I can't tell you, for if I were to do so, the future may be changed, and all would be lost. _Clow answered to Nadeshiko's silent question. _However, I can tell you about one thing. Sakura is all right and a sorcerer would be here soon, very soon to help you..._

_Who is it? Can you tell me, Clow-sama? _Nadeshiko asked as she stretched out her hands. Clow remained at a distance from her. As Nadeshiko chased after him, Clow gradually disappeared.

_Soon, Nadeshiko...soon, you will know who that person is. Soon.............................._

Nadeshiko woke up suddenly to the sounds of the signal used to announce someone who could be trusted. Yes, there was the tap and slam on the door three times. Fujitaka looked out of the door in a hidden corner, a weapon in his hand. Touya looked out of another place, where there was a peephole that allowed those who looked into it see the outside pathway. He saw a boy with midnight blue hair with strong magical auras.

Nadeshiko watched these silently. She sensed the magical aura too. "So this must be the sorcerer Clow-sama told me about." Nadeshiko thought as she walked out towards the door.

"Open the door, Fujitaka. We have a guest here who will help us. Clow-sama told me that someone, a sorcerer, would come and aid us."

Fujitaka opened the door wordlessly. He believed in Clow-sama, and that whatever he said would be true. Yes, and it was, for standing at the door was none other than their regular guest at the palace of the country of Clow in the past and friend to Sakura- Eriol Hiiragizawa.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with any characters, plot, storyline...etc, except the storyline for this fanfic!

Yeah, a new chapitre done! Oh yeah, I realized that I forgpt to type in the disclaimer for the last two chapitres, so yeah, I want to apologise...hehe, gomen. By the way, how is the fanfic so far? Any ideas what you think would continue? If you would like to find out, please review and keep a watch out for this fanfic! Ja!

By the way, Happy Halloween!


	17. Chapitre Sixteen: The Hideaway

**Feathers of Love **

**Chapitre Sixteen: The Hideaway**

* * *

Sen stared at the two people poised in front of her before releasing them from her spell. Haku went off immediately to see Yubaba, probably the problem of Nova being in her country. As for Nova, she stared at Sen, and asked, "Isn't your name Sakura? Since when is it Sen?"

"What are you saying? My name is Sakura? You must be kidding!" Sen looked at Nova dumbly.

"How can I forget? Your name is really Sakura!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"But if that is the case, then why do I not remember my name?" Sen asked.

"Then I ask you. What did Yubaba do when you were in her office?" Nova asked.

Sen, however, was neither looking nor listening to Nova. Instead, she was looking at the guests that were going towards Yubaba's bathhouse, which was in the distance. Then she turned back to Nova.

"Do you know how to fly? If so, can you please fly back towards the train station and then out of this place? The Gods and the people who serve the Gods here are able to smell humans. Besides, if you do not go now, you will disappear soon."

Nova looked at herself. Indeed, she was starting to disappear already. "But...but, the problem is that I can't fly! I have not learnt that spell yet! Then, how? What should I do? Can you hide me here? Also, what should I do to stop myself from disappearing?"

Frowning, Sen said, "I don't know...but I guess I will know eventually."

"But, it will be too late already! YOU MUST HELP ME NOW!"

At that moment, something materialized in front of the two of them. It was something small and to Sen, it seemed familiar... she snatched it and ordered, "Open you mouth and eat this now. You will not disappear if you eat this. Once you have eaten something from this country, you will not disappear."

"Are you sure?" Nova asked Sen doubtfully. "What if it is the opposite? What if I disappear at a faster rate instead of not disappearing?"

"This will not happen at all. Haku sent this to me and he wants you to eat this. I have eaten this myself, and aren't I here talking to you?"

Nova hastily took the thing that was in Sen's hand, threw it into her mouth and swallowed it without a moment's hesitation. When Sen this, she was satisfied and took Nova's hand, running towards a bathhouse that was in the distance.

"Since you cannot fly, I would have no chance but to hide you in Yubaba's bathhouse, and I do hope that you know how to mask your human scent and also your aura. It would not do to have you found out by the people working there in a dark corner and then eaten by them, or taken you to Yubaba. Do you know what to do now? Since I am a human, the others would not know that you were with me, but you have to be very careful, for the people here love human meat. The people here despise me, and to hide you, I will take you to the place where I sleep and you will have to hide there, under all the clothes that they have."

"What do you mean? Hide under all the clothes? As in hiding in the closet?"

"Yes, the closet is quite big and it stores clothes for the new people who come to work at Yubaba's bathhouse. This is what I am going to do to you now. I will wipe you with some of the cloths that we use to clean ourselves. We cannot bath and this is good, for I can use their dirtiest wipe cloth and you wipe your whole body with it. It is so smelly that it can hide your scent. With that done, you will have to discard the clothes you are wearing and wear what I am wearing as a precaution. The only thing you have to do is to hide your aura and wait until morning."

"That's all? But..."

"No buts. We are at the bridge now. You have to take a deep breath and do NOT exhale as you cross the bridge. If you do so, they will know that you are here. I will do this with you, don't worry." Sen smiled a grim smile.

Nova followed Sen's instructions and they crossed the bridge successfully. Then Sen brought Nova to her room, where Nova did everything Sen had instructed. When everything was done, Sen hid Nova in the closet.

"Remember, do not make a sound. I will be back in the morning and take you out of this country. If you hear anybody here, do not move. It may be one of the people I share the room with, all right?"

"Yes," came Nova's muffled voice under all the clothes she had hidden behind. Sen closed the door to the closet and Nova was in darkness for the night, waiting for morning to break, and the freedom that Sen promised.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with any of the anime/manga authors except for this story's plot!

I am so sorry that I have not updated for such a long time, as I did not know how to continue this chapter. So sorry that this chapter is a bit short, but I really hope that you have enjoyed it! Ja!


	18. Chapitre Seventeen: The Mission

**Feathers of Love**

** Chapitre Seventeen: The Mission**

* * *

Haku had reached Yubaba's office in record time. It was not a good thing to be late when Yubaba was looking for someone. She could be very angry when someone was late for no apparent reason. Thus, whenever Yubaba summoned someone, they always ran at top speed to her office and only then would they listen to Yubaba talking while they caught their breath.

He asked the door to open to admit him and thanking the door and asking it to close after he had entered. After which, he walked towards Yubaba and greeted her with a "good evening". He was momentarily distracted by the Kashira, which were heads, as the trio rolled into the room. However, when Yubaba talking, he turned his head and looked at her.

"Haku! I know that someone has come into this country. Do you know who that person is and have you brought that person to see me?"

"No, Yubaba, I do not know who that person is but I think that that person is going to leave this country soon, unless that person has already disappeared from this country." Haku answered.

"Is it? Well, I guess you are wrong, for I sense that person still here. Anyway, I will deal that matter myself." Yubaba took in a deep breath before she continued. "I have a new mission for you."

"Which is?" Haku asked in a bored voice. "What do I have to steal this time?"

"Steal the seal that belongs to Zeniba."

"What does it look like? Is it very big and what should I do to get it?"

"Haku, it is not very big, but that seal is very hard to steal. I need you to go to Zeniba's house, go into the fireplace and look for a loose stone that is protruding outwards. You will need a magical word written on the stone to open it and get the seal. However, the seal will have a ward on it, which must be broken." Yubaba continued. "The magical word is this. (Yubaba wrote it in the air and the word materialized.) As for the ward, I do not know how to break it. You must be quick though. The moment this word is written on the stone and reveals the ward and seal, you have to be quick for Zeniba will know that you are there to steal the seal. Do you understand your mission?"

"Yes, I understand. However, I do have a question. Which is, how do you know all these secrets to get to the seal? Usually, you just ask me to steal the specific item without any instruction whatsoever."

"Have you forgotten that Zeniba is my twin sister? Of course I do know what is on her mind. Luckily, when I looked in her mind, which is not good to my body, since it hurts a lot when Zeniba tried to push me out of her mind unconsciously, I managed to get those secrets before I get repelled."

"I see. But can you do this to other people?"

"No, that is not true. Only twins and soul mates are able to do that. However, there are definitely very few people who can do that by using spells to look into their minds, but the spells are lost and even if people do know that, they are only able to do that once, and only once, since it takes too much of one's magical powers and when they do it the second time, they will die from over usage of their magical powers."

"Good. Now that I know more about this, when should I start my mission?"

"Tonight."

"Yes, Yubaba. However, I think that I will only be back by the day after tomorrow."

"Time does not matter to me. Just get that seal and then come back here. I'll deal with Zeniba myself."

"As you wish. I'll leave now." Haku said as he went towards the door, which opened on its own accord. He thanked the door and left for Zeniba's house.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sen was serving the guests in the bathhouse after she hid Nova in her room, which she shared with other people, all of them who hated her, as she was the only human in their room. Sen had just finished bathing one guest when Rin called her.

"Hey, Sen! We have to go and clean some tubs at that side of the bathhouse. Yubaba says that we have to do that as it has been a long time since we have cleaned the tubs there and that the Stink God may come any day now for his monthly bath. Come on! After this, we can have our dinner before we serve other Gods!"

"All right! Coming!" Sen shouted as she made her way to Rin. It was her first time going to that part of the bathhouse and she was afraid that she would get lost there, for the bathhouse was quite big and there seemed to be only one way to that section of the bathhouse. In moments, she was next to Rin, who led Sen towards one of the few tubs that she had to clean. Cleaning was tough, as the tub was very, very dirty, full of slime. The two of them managed to get most of the slime off but some still remained stuck there. Thus, Rin asked Sen to go and get a herbal soak tag from the foreman, who gave it to her without hesitation only when the foreman received that something foul was making its way towards the bathhouse.

"The Stink God is coming! Go and clean up that tub!" the foreman said urgently as he pushed a few tags towards Sen. She rushed back to Rin and cleaned the tub the best she could. As she went back, she ran past Yubaba, who was near the entrance to receive the guest.

"Sen! You and Rin are to serve the Stink God! Now go and clean up that tub, and fast!" Yubaba shouted after Sen.

Sen nodded her head as she used all her power to reach the tub. Rin by then had already received news that the Stink God was coming and she was already getting ready to clean the tub.

"Good, the herbal water is coming down faster to clean the tub. Well, the water will drain away in a few moments. I'll get dinner for the two of us." Rin said as she went to get their dinner.

"Can you please be quicker? Yubaba wants us to serve the God!" Sen shouted after her. But it was too late, for Rin had disappeared and the Stink God was already in the bathhouse- she could smell the Stink God even though he was far away.

"Well, I'll just have to make do with whatever I can. At least I have the best herbal tags there is. Usually the foreman just gives me the lousiest type of herbal tag." Sen thought as she braced herself for the arrival of the Stink God.

* * *

At the same time, Haku was flying towards Zeniba's house to steal the seal in his dragon form. What he did not expect was the Zeniba was already waiting for his arrival...

* * *

Clow looked down and smiled yet again.

"The two of them do not seem to know that things will happen to make them remember each other...but it will be difficult and if they make the wrong choice, they will never notice that they love each other, not the brotherly and sisterly relationship as they had thought..." Clow thought. "As for Nadeshiko, she better do her best in that plot of theirs and if they fail, let's hope that things will be all right with the arrival of my reincarnation. There is only one path to success...all of you better do the right thing or else everything would be lost..."

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the anime or manga. I just own this story, all right?

I am sorry that I have not updated for quite a few days but I really hope that you enjoy this chaptire! Ja!


	19. Chapitre Eighteen: The God

**Feathers of Love **

**Chapitre Eighteen: The God**

* * *

The Stink God made his way towards his usual tub- the one that Sen and Rin had just cleaned. The water had drained out of the tub and the whole tub, including the cubicle was sparkling clean, albeit still wet from its cleaning. However, the Stink God did not notice, and just went into the tub, waiting for someone to serve him.

Since Sen was in the cubicle, he gestured her with one of his hands. Sen wanted to use one of her hands to stop herself from breathing in the stink but she controlled herself. Grabbing one herbal tag from the floor, she sent it to the boiler room. In moments, the water came cascading down from the pipe. The smell of herbs filled the cubicle. However, it very quickly smelt disgusting as it touched the skin of the Stink God. Rin at that moment returned with hers and Sen's dinner and it wilted in front of her. She hurried to Sen and seeing that more water would be needed to make the Stink God clean, she sent another herbal tag to the boiler room.

"Sen! Catch hold of this!" Rin shouted as she threw something to Sen. Sen caught it and used it to wash the God's back without knowing what that thing was. It was very big and looked like a big flat piece of wood with a handle. Sen looked Rin, who was mimicking how to use the thing. Sen followed what Rin was doing and the Stink God groaned with pleasure, unlike a few moments ago, he was trembling.

As Sen washed the God, the water came from the pipe. Sen continued washing the God while Rin helped to fill the tub with water. The tub that the two had meticulously cleaned in the expectation of the Stink God became slimy with the God's dirt and other unknown things, making it look as if it had not been cleaned before. Sen worked her way and very soon, she felt something. Something like a handle that was quite thick. While she looked at what that thing really was, she was doused with the water that Rin had asked for with another herbal tag.

At this moment, the God pulled Sen towards him and pointed the thing that looked like a handle to her. Sen looked at it and the God, who was gesturing frantically. It looked as if the God wanted that thing out…

Sen placed her hands on the thing…

...and gave an almighty pull…

...and it came out of the God's body, along with the dirty stuff which it was made up of. Now, she stank from head to toe with the stuff that had come out of the God's body- the slime and other things.

However, to her surprise, even though she was smelly, she wiped the stuff away from her eyes and looked at the being in front of her. Instead of the Stink God, she saw a dragon with a human face. It looked at her and roared once. Instantly, the dirty stuff had disappeared from her body and her clothes was clean and dry again. The dragon whispered in Sen's ear, "Your true name is Sakura, as the girl you have hidden here has said. Do not deny it, or you will regret it forever."

Sen nodded her head and as the God flew out of the bathhouse, small pieces of gold appeared everywhere, including on top of the dirty stuff that once covered the God's body. She ran over to Rin, and asked, "Who is that God we served? He does not seem to be one of our regular customers."

"Why, my dear! He is the River God! I think that he had visited this bathhouse because of the fact that the pollution disturbed his slumber in his palace, and the place was not clean enough to wash himself clean."

"But why his slumber? Is he usually awake?"

"No, the River God is usually sleeping, and when he is sleeping, the river he is guarding is peaceful and the people will live peacefully. If he is awake, it is either he is angry at the people or wants to do something like he did today. Also, you have to remember what the God had said. It is very important. For whatever this God has said, it is true and he has not spoken to anyone for the last five hundred years, or so the records stated the last time I checked."

Sen looked at her silently as she thought about what she had just learnt. "So, whatever he says is important then?"

"Yes." Rin answered her question. "Do not doubt his powers, you will only make yourself confused when you think about everything. I'll get us dinner again, since the one I took just now is not suitable for eating any longer."

Sen nodded dumbly as she went back to the tub, which she supposed she had to clean again since the God had used it just moments ago and it was still dirty.

"Sen!" Yubaba yelled. "Oh! Stop getting those gold pieces! They are mine!" She was ignored, however. Her workers were still snatching whatever gold they could find and hide them away in their pockets. "Sen! Clean that tub again, do you hear me?" Sen nodded her head as she made her weary body walk into the tub to wash the stuff away- she was still not used to working in the night and sleeping during the day.

By the time she had finished cleaning the tub, it was almost dawn, since Rin was summoned by Yubaba to serve other guests while she was to clean the tub alone. She took the already cold dinner from the corner of the cubicle where she had placed it and ate her dinner, before going back to the room she had shared with the other female workers to deal with the problem of Nova.

* * *

Meanwhile, Haku had already reached the house of Zeniba and did whatever Yubaba had instructed him, except that he only escaped from the place injured, with the seal and was on his way back to the bathhouse, chased some paper-like creatures sent by Zeniba…

* * *

Disclaimer:I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or whatever characters or story that has appeared in this fanfiction.

Well, this chapitre is done, yeah! So sorry that it took me such a long time to update, but also of the fact that I could not upload the chapitre. Sorry to keep you all waiting, and I hope that you have enjoyed this chapitre! Ja!

Note: I will not change the layout of this fanfiction, though there are new options for me to do so. I may do so in other fanfictions in the future, but I hope that you do not mind. :) This way, it will be easier to edit and make the necessary words bold. :D


	20. Chapitre Nineteen: The Injuries

**Feathers of Love **

**Chapitre Nineteen: The Injuries**

* * *

Sen went back to her room, feeling extremely tired but had no chance of resting that day. She had worked the whole night and would be willing enough for a few hours of sleep that would come when she went to her bed. However, at that moment, it was not time for her to rest, for Nova was still hiding in the room. She was up in her room early, since she did not bathe then.

"Nova, Princess Nova?" she whispered in the room.

Nova came out of her hiding place and went over to Sen. She looked very tired and had dark circles underneath her eyes. Sen whispered, "Hide your magical aura, like the whole time you did just now. I will take you as one of the guests who has wandered away from the cubicles where the tubs are and am bringing you to the entrance, if anyone is asking about why you are here. By the way, do you know how to do an invisibility spell?"

"No, I do not know how to do this spell." Nova answered.

"If that is the case, then I will have to take you through another way then. You will follow me to the side exit, with you holding your magical aura, and I will take you to the train station. I will need to be quick so that the others will not miss me. Is that all right with you? It will be best if we are running, once we are out of the town, and we will not attract much attention from the other guests that are leaving the place then."

"I understand. Let's go now."

Sen led Nova through a series of corridors, lifts, rooms and other assorted places, all the while feeling nervous, for they were afraid of being discovered by Yubaba or any of the workers or guests. Both of them finally reached the side exit, which was no wider than a child and higher than Nova. Sen walked through the exit, with Nova following behind her. Fortunately, the exit was not a long one and they reached the other side in moments.

"Now, we will walk as if nothing has happened until we are outside the town. I think that by the time we have reached the river, we should be able to cross it then. Do remember to hold your magical aura! When you have exited from the train station, walk until you are out of the forest before you try to clean yourself. All right?"

Nova nodded her head, and Sen walked into the town, walking in circles, which she put it, to put away suspicious characters who may be following them. Time passed and some time later, they reached the outside of the town, where the river was.

"Come on! Let's go!" Nova said as she started running, Sen following behind her. Nova could see the train station and she was ready to leave the place, with or without Sen, Haku or the harp, for to her, this place was making her feel scared. The two of them ran and they reached the train station in moments.

"I will not be following you any longer. Please do cross the train station and do not look back! Or else, you may be caught by Yubaba then, which would not be very good after all. Now go! I do not think that there is anything much that you would want to remember here anyway…" Sen trailed off. Nova went into the train station. When she exited it, she released her magical aura and Sen could sense her, which meant that she was already outside of the train station.

Back facing the train station, Sen ran back to the bathhouse, hoping that she would not be found out by anyone that she had slipped away. She went back for a quick bath and went to her room, which was still empty, though she could not understand why. Her fellow workers should have gone to bed by then, so why were they still not sleeping?

However, when she was thinking about that matter, she was distracted by some sounds, sounds that were different from what she was used to hearing after living in the bathhouse for some time. She looked to the sea, and saw a white dragon pursued by paper-like creatures that seemed to be able to fly themselves. They seemed to be attacking the dragon now and then. Sen's eyes widened as she took in the scene. She threw open the screen dividing the balcony from the room and shouted, "Haku! Over here!"

Haku seemed to hear what Sen was shouting and flew towards her. When the dragon flew in, Sen immediately closed the screen, thereby stopping the paper-like creatures from attacking Haku. When the screen was closed properly, she went over to Haku, who was lying so still that it seemed as if it was dead. Sen shook the dragon, gently at first but harder when it did not respond. It was of no use; Haku did not stir when Sen shook him. She looked at his injuries and decided to heal them herself.

Sen reached deep into her powers and pressed her hands on the injuries that were the most serious and need tending immediately. She whispered the spell and the wounds started healing but she started feeling tired very quickly. However, the wounds healed very quickly and when she was done, the dragon opened its eyes.

She smiled and said, "Thank goodness you are all right! I am sorry that I am not able to heal those wounds that are…" She fainted and fell into the arms of Haku, who had changed back into a human but was naked. Luckily, Sen did not notice it as she slept on, oblivious to what was happening. Haku wore some clothes and then tucked Sen into her bed, while he himself went to see Yubaba…

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters featured in this fanfiction nor the manga or anime itself.

How is this chapitre? I really do hope that you will enjoy it! :D


	21. Chapitre Twenty: The Harp

**Feathers of Love **

**Chapitre Twenty: The Harp**

* * *

Haku was worried about Sen, and was constantly thinking about her when he went to see Yubaba. Yes, he did have the seal, but he also hoped that he could leave this bathhouse after completing this mission. The missions were difficult and he had to do them just to learn a few spells, which sometimes were not very useful at all. However, what could he do to leave Yubaba? He had forgotten his real name after such a long time. Well, he could still try. There was no harm in trying, right? As for Sen, he knew that she wanted to leave the country very much, and she would certainly do so, if she could end the contract with Yubaba. She had come into this country accidentally, after all. But, was it possible to take Sen along with him? 

By then, Haku had already reached the office of Yubaba. He asked the door to open and allow him to enter, when the door suddenly burst open from Yubaba's command. He jumped aside and allowed Yubaba to leave the room.

"Yubaba. I have the seal that you want with me." Haku said after he had greeted her.

"Is it? Come in, I want you to give me the seal and see if you can play the harp. My poor baby is wailing and can't sleep!"

"Yes, Yubaba." Haku went into the room, thanking the door silently for allowing him to enter. The door closed, silently, as if hearing the thanks from Haku in its mind. The harp was near the fireplace, where it was waiting for someone to sing a song. However, when he plucked a string, instead of a clear note, a loud twang sounded. Yubaba's baby wailed louder when hearing it. Oh dear, what should he do? Yubaba would not ask for the seal at the moment and he would not be able to request for his leaving the bathhouse when her baby was crying. Well, there was someone who could help him, if he could get that person…

"Yubaba, I know who can play that harp. Give me some time." Haku said as he went to find Sen.

Sen was still sleeping when he went back to Sen's room. By that time, most of Sen's fellow workers were back in their rooms, some sleeping while some whispering in their beds. When he entered the room, he went straight to Sen, who was still asleep in her bed. He ignored the whisperings behind his back as he went and shook Sen awake. It was of no use. She was still asleep. Haku reached into his magical powers and entered used it to enter Sen's consciousness. He called out quietly in his mind, "Sen, wake up. It's Haku. I need you help." Sen stirred, but did not wake. He called out again, and again. Finally, she woke.

"Haku?" She asked as she tried to sit up. "What is the matter? Are you all right?"

"I need your help. Yubaba's baby is crying and she needs someone to play the harp to calm the baby. I can't play it. Can you come and play the harp and sing?"

Sen nodded her head as she stood up. "I will come along then. If the baby does not stop crying, nobody will get any sleep anyway. Oh dear…" She swayed on her feet. Haku steadied her. Suddenly, Sen noticed that her fellow workers were looking at her. She blushed deeply and snatched her arm away from Haku, saying, "I can walk on my own, thank you." She made her way out of the room, Haku following close by, anxiously watching her in case she fell.

"Are you sure you are all right? You look pale."

"I'm fine, See?" Sen smiled as she turned to look at Haku. Then she noticed the wounds. "I will heal your wounds later. Some of those wounds still seem serious." She swayed again. Haku caught her arm.

"No."

"Nani?"

"You need not heal my wounds. I won't die. Besides, I heal faster than anybody." Sen nodded her head.

"All right, all right. I do seem to need your help after all." The two of them climbed the stairs and reached the elevator. They took the elevator to the top of the bathhouse. At the same time, Haku proposed, "Er…would you like to leave this place? Because if you do, I would like to take you out of this country. I want you to find your mother…and I feel sick of doing missions for Yubaba! They are so useless! Fancy teaching me useless spells as a reward for stealing things for Yubaba!"

"Nani? No wonder you are usually not in the bathhouse. And yes, I would like to leave this place. But is it possible? Yubaba has not ended the contract yet."

"There will be ways, but please do not tell this to anyone." They had reached the top floor and Haku helped Sen into Yubaba's room, where he set her before the fireplace. The baby's wailing was still as loud. Haku went to Yubaba, who was crooning at the baby, trying to get him to sleep.

"Yubaba. I have gotten the person who can sing the harp. Let her do the singing."

"Fine, fine, fine! Just do whatever it takes to let my baby sleep!" Yubaba shouted over the wailings of the baby. Sen heard it and immediately began to sing a song.

This song was one that her mother had sung to her a long time ago, and she had absently plucked the tune from the harp. Gently, she plucked a few notes and played. Sen sang.

When the music song started, the baby'scries subsided very quickly and started to fall asleep. In moments, the whole room became silent. Yubaba and Haku left the baby's room and looked at Sen, who had finished singing the song and was standing up, her back facing Yubaba. She turned around and looked at the floor.

"Yubaba."

"Good singing you've got." Yubaba said before she turned towards Haku. "Have you gotten the seal?"

"Yes, I have."

"Where is it? Give it to me."

Haku started taking out the seal but Sen, who had remained silent until now, said softly, "No."

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the anime or manga, so please do not sue me. 

How is this chapitre? I know that it is a bit long but I hope that you have enjoyed it…please review!


	22. Chapitre Twentyone: The Leaving

**Feathers of Love **

**Chapitre Twenty-one: The Leaving

* * *

**

Haku looked up from what he was doing and stopped what he was doing. "What are you saying?"

Sen, who was still looking at the floor, answered in a quiet voice, "You shouldn't give the seal to Yubaba. It is wrong. What if you are labeled as a thief just so that you can learn a few spells? Is it worth it? If you have stolen something very important from people to give to Yubaba, what would they feel if the things you have stolen were their greatest treasure?"

Yubaba looked positively outraged at Sen's quiet argument. This mere human girl who had begged her for a job in the bathhouse now wanted Haku, her assistant, to return the seal to his sister! Absolutely absurd! She would have none of this!

"Give me that seal or else…" Yubaba shouted, forgetting about her baby for a moment.

"Or else what? Kill me? You have been threatening me with this since I came here to work under you. All your threatening no longer scares me anymore." Haku retorted.

Sen looked in confusion. She was tired and wanted to sleep, hence not knowing what was happening between Haku and Yubaba. She only heard the cries of the baby, who was awakened by Yubaba's shout, and so she set about getting the harp and singing another song. However, as Yubaba went into the room where her baby was, Haku turned around and looked at Sen, who was bending to take the harp.

"No time for that. We should leave now while Yubaba is busy with her baby." Haku said.

"But…but what about the baby?"

"Forget about him for a moment. Do you want to leave this place?"

Sen nodded her head. "Yes, I really want to leave this place. Should I take the harp too?" Haku did not answer but grabbed Sen's arm and pulled her out of the room towards the rooftop. In the last minute, Sen grabbed the harp with her free hand and ran with Haku to the top of the bathhouse. As they were running, they heard Yubaba's angry shout, but the ignored it. As for Haku, he was transforming into a dragon, but it was a very slow process. When they had reached the rooftop, he was still halfway from being a dragon.

"Sing for me, Sen! Sing that dragon song! Please, be quick about it!" Sen, who knew what was going to happen, started to sing the song, with a few notes from the harp to accompany it,

Haku rapidly transformed into the white dragon. It was slightly slower than last time, when Sen was singing at Debonair's palace. However, when Haku finished transforming into a dragon, Yubaba just reached the top of the roof, sides heaving. Apparently, she had calmed her baby down before running to catch them for there were no cries of the baby anymore.

Haku gestured at Sen with his head and pointed it to his back. Then, Haku turned to face the sky, all the while trying to sense whether Yubaba was preparing to attack behind their backs. Yubaba was preparing a spell, one that was quite powerful. Sen clambered up the dragon's back and almost immediately, Yubaba released the spell, exactly at the spot where both dragon and human would have been if the dragon had not flown into the air a second earlier. If they were not in the air, well, they would become fried dragon and human already.

Yubaba howled. As the duo sped towards Zeniba's house, Yubaba changed into her bird form and chased after them. For the whole day, they flew. Sometimes the other eluded one's sight but they would appear moments later. Haku chose to hide among the thick clouds and therefore able to elude Yubaba for some time. But whenever the clouds moved, they would be visible again.

Finally, Sen had enough of it. She strummed the harp with her hands while she tried to balance herself with her legs on the dragon. She sang another song, one of a bird wanting to roost and therefore going to a tree to sleep. It worked on Yubaba, for she was in a bird form. This was an enchanted sleep and Yubaba would only awake when the day ended. This song had no words, but it seemed to have word of its own…

Through this way, they had at least gained some time before Yubaba would chase them again. Haku slowed down his speed. He was tired and wanted to rest, but then, they were nearing Zeniba's house. He hurried on, hoping that Sen would not fall asleep. However, he thought about something as he flew, the incident when he woke Sen to sing the song to calm Yubaba's baby to sleep. He had called Sen awake with his mind and a tiny bit of his magical powers. It was then that he remembered something Yubaba had told him before he went to steal the seal.

"_Only twins and soul mates are able to do that. However, there are definitely very few people who can do that by using spells to look into their minds, but the spells are lost and even if people do know that, they are only able to do that once, and only once, since it takes too much of one's magical powers and when they do it the second time, they will die from over usage of their magical powers._"

It struck him. He was shocked. Were they soul mates or were they twins?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except this story. :D

How is it? Yes, Haku and Sen were leaving the bathhouse for good! However, it may not be the last time you see Yubaba! Read…and of course, review!

By the way, I wanted to add in the line breaks but it does not seem to work when I am editing this chapitre, so I used this. :)


	23. Chapitre Twentytwo: The Returning

**Feathers of Love **

**Chapitre Twenty-two: The Returning**

* * *

"Are we soul mates or twins?" Haku thought as he flew towards Zeniba's house. "But we do not look like each other, and everything is different, from temperament to character…unless we are really soul mates?" He turned his head to look at Sen, who was trying to keep awake and stay balanced, holding the harp at the same time. "No, I will think about that later on…I guess I better land, or else Sen will fall asleep and drop off my back…" 

At this, Haku flew down towards a tree which he had spotted in the distance. Sen was jolted into awareness due to the speed that Haku increased. She looked blurrily at her surroundings before she realized that Haku was heading towards a tree.

"Are we going to rest at that tree? I thought that you wanted to reach Zeniba's place before we rest?" Sen asked.

Haku tried speaking with his mind. _"You are going to fall asleep on my back soon and if you are not careful, you will fall off my back."_

Obviously, Sen was surprised when she heard this in her mind. She tried it too. _"Well, I guess you are right in some ways…I really am tired, but are you sure you want to land here? Yubaba might wake up."_

"_I am sure that Yubaba will not wake up, but really, you need your rest. And thanks to you, I was healed, so I should protect you for the time being…"_

"…_Arigato!"_ Haku landed in front of the tree. Sen slid down the dragon's back and started looking for branches to light a fire. The temperature was cold and she did not want to freeze and get sick. When the fire was lighted, she sat against the tree trunk and looked at the starry sky. The moon was rising slowly and it was very beautiful. It was a full moon. However, Haku was not happy about it. He cursed.

"_What's the matter? Don't you like full moons?"_ Sen asked, frowning. Her question was answered when Haku changed into a wolf. It was brown in colour and it was huge. But, Haku was displeased with it.

"_Are you all right? Why do you change into a wolf?"_ Sen asked. Then she understood. _"You change into a wolf when the moon is full?"_

"_Yes, and at that time, I do not have powers to protect you. I am weak and I will not be able to use my magical powers. Besides, I am to be a wolf until the moon is not full any more. Argh!"_

"You know, Haku, you shouldn't be like that. This is what you are born to be, and besides, even if you are weak, I will protect you!" Sen said out loud. She was surprised when she spoke and broke the peaceful silence; for she thought that she was speaking in her mind.

"Luckily, it is only for one night…but usually, if I am unlucky, people will attack me, thinking that I am a monster, which I am one…"

"_Why should you be so sad? Unless your parents…?"_

"_My mother is a human, but my father is a demon with a human body, but can change into any animal he wishes to be."_

"_I see, but I think that you love your parents, right?"_ Sen asked sleepily.

_"Yeah, I do."_

Sen did not hear Haku's answer, for she had fallen asleep against the tree trunk. Haku smiled, and thought, "I'll protect you no matter what. Thanks for healing me when I most needed help…arigato!" With this, Haku kept a lookout for Yubaba and creatures that might attack them. He did not sleep for the whole night.

When Sen awoke, she was surprised to see Haku looking at her. She was still a bit tired but she felt better now. "Good morning!" she greeted him. "Did you have a good night's sleep?" Haku did not answer. The dragon looked towards the horizon. (He had changed back into a dragon when the sun rose.)

"Well then, I'll leave you to your thinking. I'll go and get some food." Sen said as she went to a bush nearby, hoping to find some berries. She did not find any, but she chanced upon a field of flowers. She gasped. She could not believe that something like this could be hidden behind a bush. She went towards it. Taking a deep breath, she went towards the fringe of the field and plucked some of the blooms. They were very beautiful. She also saw animals of all sorts making their way through it. Sen decided not to disturb them. Instead, she took the blooms she had plucked and went back to Haku, who was still looking towards the horizon and had not moved since she had went in search of food.

"Well, I can't find food, but I did find some beautiful flowers. Since there is no food to be found, how about setting off now?"

"All right." Haku got to his feet and went towards Sen. She climbed onto his back with the harp inhand and the two of them set off to Zeniba's house.

When they had reached Zeniba's house, it was already noon and the two of them were feeling very hungry. However, Sen was not as hungry as Haku, for she was used to eating very little when she was working for Debonair. She could still withstand the hunger pangs.

Zeniba was already at the door waiting for them when they flew down. Next to her, there was a pile of knitting and it seemed to be half-finished.

"Hello! I guess that you are Yubaba's twin sister, Zeniba! Haku and I have come to return you your seal. I hope that you can forgive Haku, since he was under Yubaba's orders to steal the seal…" Sen said. However, to her surprise, Zeniba did not seem angry. Instead, she was smiling and answered, "The two of you are hungry. Come on in and have some lunch. You can return me the seal after you have eaten."

"But…" Sen started. "But…" Haku stepped forward. Sen saw that the seal was inside his mouth. She took it and gave it to Zeniba. "I really hope that you can forgive Haku…please?"

"All right, all right." Zeniba chuckled. "I'll forgive him. Now, would the two of you like to have some lunch? And don't you worry, I won't eat you." Sen smiled at this. She turned and looked at Haku, and thought, _"Would you like to come in and eat?"_

_"I want to, but give me a moment."_ Haku answered as he went towards some bushes. Sen followed Zeniba into the house and got the lunch Zeniba had promised…

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything except this storyline, all right? 

How is it? This is one of my longest chapitres and I really hope that you enjoy it! Well, I guess I better go and type a new chapitre! It seems as if I want to type a lot today. :D Ja!


	24. Chapitre Twentythree: The Birthnames

**Feathers of Love **

**Chapitre Twenty-three: The Birth-names**

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When Haku went into Zeniba's house for lunch, he was already in human form and had on some clothes, Sen and Zeniba were helping themselves with the food. Especially Sen, who was very hungry, was enjoying herself very much, though she was eating slowly, as if savoring the taste of food in her mouth. Haku sat down on the empty seat next to Sen and took a bowl, filling it with food. The trio munched silently, occasionally broken by the sound of drinking and the sound of chopsticks clinking on their bowls.

After everyone has finished their food, Zeniba stood up and went outside of the house. Haku and Sen followed Zeniba, wondering what she was doing. However, when they were outside, they saw that she was just sitting on a chair that was under the shade of a tree, and was looking at them.

"I guess it is time to introduce yourselves and please do not tarry." Zeniba started. "I still have some business to deal with my sister, who may be coming to join us soon. Perhaps she may not be here but she would probably send something to attack us…"

"I understand. Since that is the case, let me introduce us on the behalf of Sen." Haku said. "Well, my name is Haku and I am an assistant for Yubaba. Well, I am really sorry that I have stolen your seal, but I was working under Yubaba's orders and I cannot refuse them, even if I do not want to do them. My partner is Sen and she is a worker at the bathhouse. The two of us have come here in the hope of leaving the bathhouse and therefore, Yubaba and also return you the seal. But as you have said, Yubaba may be coming after us, so I guess we should not tarry, since she may harm you just to get that seal."

Zeniba kept silent for moments, before Sen broke it. "How can we leave the bathhouse officially if we have already given our names to Yubaba? What should we do then?" Zeniba considered the question as she stared at the two of them.

"You should know the answer. Besides, I am sure that your families are very powerful, don't you bother hide that bracelet from me, Sen, and as for Haku, Yubaba only kidnaps princes to work for her."

"We have to know our birth-names then?" Sen asked quietly. "Do we have to speak them in front of Yubaba so that we can be released from the contract?"

"Yes," Zeniba answered. "You will have to do that. Besides the sensing of that bracelet, I also know that the two of you have something of importance hidden in your bodies. Thus, I urge the both of you to leave Yubaba's service as soon as possible and go back to your homes."

"I know. Well, I should reintroduce myself, since my name is not Sen at all." Sen started to say. "My name is Sakura Kinomoto and I used to work for Debonair, but have escaped with my mother from that place. Now that I remember my name, I also remember that I have to go to the country of Clow, which used to be my home…"

"But how do you know your name? I thought that you had forgotten yours." Haku asked. "I do remember, for the River God told me this and I was glad the I remembered my name. I was told by Rin that the River God does not lie and also the fact that Princess Nova tells me that my name is Sakura, and since both names match, then it is definitely my name! What about you then? Do you remember yours?" Sakura answered.

"_No, I do not remember at all."_

"_You will! I will help you find if I can! I will do the best I can, since you are the one who has helped me escape from Yubaba! Believe in yourself! Have confidence!"_

"Sakura…" 

"_Come to think of it,"_ Sakura thought as she turned to look at Haku._ "I think that I remember something already! You turned into a wolf yesterday, right? Think about it. Is it possible that someone is named after the creature one turns into once a month?"_

_"It is possible…"_

"So there you are! I thought that you have already left this place, but it is always good to have a visit to my sister…" something above her shouted. It was Yubaba and she had arrived at Zeniba's house already. (She was still a bird.) "Come back to the bathhouse and work for me! I am your master!'

"Oh no you don't! You do not have me as a worker anymore! I am free from your contract!" Sakura shouted at Yubaba.

"Then what is your name, Sen? Your birth-name?"

"Sakura Kinomoto!" Sakura shouted back. "The Rive God told me this! You can't deny it, am I right?" Yubaba paled. She knew that whatever the River God said was right. There have been workers who have left the bathhouse after the River God told them their names.

"What about you, Haku? Do you remember yours?" Yubaba taunted. "If not, you are to come back to the bathhouse with me!"

Haku closed his eyes and blocked out the sounds of his surroundings. He looked into himself and searched for his name. His birth-name. That would be the thing that would allow him to leave Yubaba's bathhouse. He would find it.

Sakura cast a shield spell around Zeniba, Haku and herself in case Yubaba decided to attack them and closed her eyes too. She was helping Haku think of his name, and she would find it, no matter what.

"Haku, if you remember your name, you should have a feeling of happiness, there is no doubt about it." Zeniba said as she went over to the two youngsters. "Though there are some cases of people who were told their names by some God, and that would be different. But I am sure that you will be able to find your name."

"_Haku, please do be quick. I can't hold the spell for a very long time. Yubaba is attacking the shield now. But still, I will help you find your name. Think about wolf. I think that that is our best bet."_

"_Wolf?"_

"_Yes. Think about it. I cannot help you discover your name, but I can help you in other ways. Please do be quick…"_

"_Wolf…big wolf, small wolf…no, that does not sound like a name. Think about mother. Mother. Yes, she is likely to give Chinese names. What about Da Lang, Xiao Lang?"_

At that moment, Haku felt something. A small feeling of happiness. He knew what his name was now. He opened his eyes and stared at Yubaba.

"It is too late, Yubaba! Leave this place! My birth-name is Syaoran! Am I right?" At that moment, Sakura's shield cracked under Yubaba's assault. She dropped to her knees and Yubaba chose this moment to attack her, now that the two were not her servants…

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything except this fanfiction's storyline.

Well, I did say that I feel like typing a lot yesterday. So how was it? A chapitre on Nova, Nadeshiko, Yelen and also Debonair should be up next! Stay tuned!


	25. Chapitre Twentyfour: The Others

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Twenty-four: The Others

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**

Everything was going on well under her four daughters' care, and the country Yelen was ruling was holding against Debonair's attacks. Shiefa was still getting more information from her faithful spies, the repairs was still going on under Fanren's care and everything should be done by the end of the month, Feimei was sending small groups of their soldiers to attack Debonair's small villages and towns through the staircase under her orders and last of all, Fuutie had sent more soldiers to teach her civilians to protect themselves and also defend their country. All in all, Yelen was very proud of her children. As for her, she would have to plan out the plans with the help of her generals and also defend the country from Debonair's frequent use of magic in any forms with her sorcerers and magicians. Yes, everything was going well, but as for Debonair…she was mad.

Debonair could not believe that Queen Yelen had the guts to attack her country, through whatever means she had no idea at the moment, but the villages and towns at the borders of her country were starting to be conquered by Yelen. She would find out what they were doing soon, and when she did, she would attack them. She need not worry much, for she had many soldiers, sorcerers, and magicians and also civilians, who she would control and order them to fight the other countries with her magic that made them lose the movement of their bodies. If those with magic tried to resist her, she would send her mercenaries to either torture them until they submitted and if not, they would kill them. She had that many people under her control, after all.

However, she was also worried for her Nova, her precious Nova, who had gone missing after she had forbidden her to go in search of Nadeshiko, Sakura and the harp. Nova was her daughter after all, and she was the next in line to inherit the throne and if she was captured…she could be used to threaten her to give up her country. Even if Nadeshiko, Sakura and the harp were not with her anymore, she would make do with whatever she had. Nova was the one more important than the other things, though she would be very happy if Nova had come back with that Haku, Yubaba, Sakura, Nadeshiko and the harp. But still, she would not hope for too much. Even if her daughter could not capture or find anything, she still wanted her daughter to be all right.

As for Nadeshiko, she had thought that someone other than Eriol would come and aid them, but not him. It was wonderful to have such a powerful friend of Sakura's to help them. She would get more information out of him, and that was what she would do. She looked at Eriol as he came into the house quickly and quietly, in case Debonair's soldiers were patrolling that part of the city that they were at. When Eriol had safely entered the house and the door was closed securely, all of them sat down at the table while the general went to brew some tea.

"So, Eriol, how come you are here? I thought that you are wanted by Debonair?" Fujitaka finally asked in a whisper after the general had settled down on a seat after being insisted by Nadeshiko to sit down. (He was whispering for fear that soldiers would think that they were planning a revolt and order them to open the door and search the place, which they were, of course, the rebels, and though all manner of important things were hidden away, it was still possible that they would be found by someone.)

"Yes, I was still wanted by Debonair. I came here because Clow-sama sent me a vision and told me to come here. It seems that you all need my help after all. Now, what is the plan? I do need to know them. You all need not know what happened when I was coming here. I will tell you in the future, not now. Now would be a great time to talk about plans, right?" Eriol asked.

"Yes, you are right. But can you get them from our minds? We are planning for a very long time and it would be good for you to know them through our minds instead of us telling you. It is too complicated and it will take a very long time." The general asked.

Eriol shook his head. "I am sorry, but I can't do that. However, if you can let me into the room where all the plans are, and lock me inside it, I will read them and when I have finished them, I will give you the signal. That way, when soldiers come to search this place, I can hide all traces of the plans and all your auras, since I have found out that the magicians and sorcerers are not nearby and they are not as strong as I had thought."

"If that is what you want. Do you want food to be with you when you are reading them?" Nadeshiko asked.

"No, I will not need them, just water will do. If it is all right with you all, can I please be let into that room and let me start to read the plans? That way, I can tell you what things that can be improved on and also which things that I can help. When everything is done, I can discuss with everyone of you and from then on, we can discuss what were are to do so that time can be saved."

"All right, if that is what you wish to do." Touya said as he went to get some water and lead Eriol into the room…

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything but this storyline. 

I hope that you have enjoyed this chapitre! I know that it is a bit chunky for each paragraph but I hope that you will not mind, for if I were to add in speech, who knows how long it will be? All right, don't set me talking about this, I can go on for quite some time…a new chapitre should be up in a week's time, if I have time to type. By the way, I will not be able to update as fast as I can from next year onwards, with all the homework that I am expecting to get, from what I have heard from my seniors. Well, then, sayonara for now!


	26. Chapitre Twentyfive: The Getaway

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Twenty-five: The Getaway

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**

Yubaba sent a bolt of lightning at Sakura, who was on her knees, trying to recover from Yubaba's attack on her shield. She could not believe that Yubaba was that strong until her shield cracked.

At that moment, someone ran in front of her and cried out, "Lightning, come forth!" and a bolt of lightning appeared from his ofuku scroll. The two bolts of lightning exploded together when they collided with each other. Sakura's eyes widened. She had thought that Syaoran did not know how to use ofuku scrolls. She knew how to, of course. It was simple, actually.

Yubaba clenched her beak together in frustration. (She was still a bird.) Since those two were not going to be her servants anymore and would not go back with her to the bathhouse, she would do whatever it took to kill them, if she could.

"Sakura, are you all right?" Syaoran asked as he stared at the girl still on her knees on the ground. Sakura did not answer. "Sakura, are you really all right?" he asked again.

"Yes, I am alright. Don't worry about me now. Worry about Yubaba." Sakura said as she stood up and looked at Yubaba, who was staring at them, muttering something that they could not hear. "What shall we do? We can't possibly kill Yubaba in front on Zeniba, can we? They are, after all, twins."

"Oh…don't you worry about me, dear. Kill my sister if you have to. I don't like her anyway, always killing innocent people and forcing people to work for her. Besides, if you do not kill her, I would do so, since she is the one who ordered you to steal that seal from me. But thanks to you, I have my seal back, which is an object of power and when used for one's evil means, can kill people. Now, leave this place with your harp and let me deal with Yubaba myself. When everything is over, I will free everyone from her bathhouse."

Sakura looked at Zeniba. She was very doubtful about it. "But what if you die? What should I do? I can't possibly let you deal with her yourself."

Zeniba smiled. "Don't you worry about me, dear. I have lived a very long time and I think that if I should die, I will not mind. After all, I have lived a very fruitful life." Looking at Sakura's worried face, Zeniba continued. "Even when I die with Yubaba, the contracts will be ended, so the workers can leave the bathhouse if they want to. Go now, or I will be forced to use magic to send you all away. Take that harp with you too."

Syaoran was pulling at Sakura's arm. He could not wait to get out of this place, though he was sad that he would have to leave Zeniba to fight against Yubaba. He himself would have stayed behind to fight Yubaba himself if her could, but since Zeniba insisted…well, he would do as she said so. Sakura was resisting his pull. She did not want to leave Zeniba behind, she could not bear to do so.

"Sakura, come on!" Syaoran pulled harder. Finally, Sakura moved her feet, though she kept looking behind her at Zeniba. When they were very far away from Yubaba and Zeniba, Sakura turned back one last time and looked at the cottage.

Then, there was one sound and a blinding light that left stars in Sakura's eyes.

It was over.

"Syaoran, do you think that Zeniba would be all right?" she asked as her hands caressed the harp.

"I don't know, but I hope that Zeniba will be." Syaoran turned and looked at Sakura. "I am glad that you are all right, my dear Sakura," he said as he hugged her. Sakura's face turned red. She could not believe what she was hearing. She pushed herself away from Syaoran's embrace.

"What do you think you are doing, mister!" she said as she continued walking, her face still red with embarrassment.

"_Oh yeah, I forgot that Sakura has forgotten the incident which has caused her to forget about me…I guess it will take a long time before she remembers everything, unless…"_

They exited through the train station and were in the forest. There, Sakura opened her mouth and asked, "So where do you think we should go? I would like to find my mother, you know."

"How about to my home? By the way, where is your mother, the Queen of Clow?"

"Somewhere in Clow, I guess. Unless you have forgotten that you have helped us escape from Debonair's palace?" Sakura answered. "However, I do not know where is she and also, I am not sure if Clow is not under Debonair's control anymore. Perhaps to your home, as you have said."

Syaoran nodded. He understood Sakura's dilemma. However, his home was very far away and to reach it in a few days, he would have to change into a dragon and go home through that way.

"Well, if that is the case, I'll just have to change into a dragon and fly us there. Is that all right with you?"

Sakura had nothing to say, except nodding her head. Syaoran changed into a dragon and Sakura started collecting the clothes that were on the grass. She folded them and was about to clamber onto Syaoran's back with the clothes and harp when Nova appeared from behind a tree.

"Nova? How come you are still here? I thought that you were already back home?" Sakura asked dumbly.

"I was waiting for the two of you to appear," Nova nodded her head in the direction of the harp. "And also the harp too. Now, I do not want to fight the two of you but if you are clever enough, give me the harp and then follow me back to my mother's palace."

Instead of listening, Sakura clambered onto the dragon's back and the dragon flew. Nova screamed as she tried to attack them. However, it was to no avail, and she screamed in frustration again.

"I will get them! You better watch out!" Nova said to the forest as she went walked out of it, towards her home.

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything except this story's plot.

Thanks to those who have reviewed! Arigato! Next chapitre should be up soon, I hope…


	27. Chapitre Twentysix: The Capture

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Twenty-six: The Capture

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**

It was not easy for them to travel to Syaoran's home. They had to dodge Debonair's sentries and the arrows or magic they fired at them and outrun them too, if they had flying steeds. However, they managed to do so all the time, but they needed to rest more often too, for the weather was not very good when they were flying and more often than not, the two of them would start to freeze, so Syaoran had to fly lower then he normally would. It wasted a lot of time but it was better than freezing to death, though whichever village or town they accidentally flew over would attract a lot of attention.

When they were not under attack, Sakura and Syaoran were silent, not needing to communicate, for each of them were thinking about other things that were private to the other person.

Sakura was busy thinking about Zeniba and what had happened after that. She had imagined a lot of horrible images in her mind and she was feeling ill at ease. She wanted to stop thinking about them but she could not, and they occupied her thoughts most of the time, unless she was thinking about something else, which was Syaoran. She could not believe that someone decent like him would do this to her. And his words…

"_I am glad that you are all right, my dear Sakura."_

Sakura kept hearing them in her mind. What did that mean? Did it mean that he loved her? Or was it something else? But if that was the case, why did he call her 'his dear Sakura'? She was confused.

As for Syaoran, he was reminiscing about the past, before he had lost his memory. Now that his memory was complete, he was not confused like he was when he was Haku, a servant to Yubaba, trying to remember what had happened in the past. He was thinking about his country, which was under constant attack from Debonair's country and also about his mother, who he had not seen for many years. Same with his sisters, though he shuddered to think of meeting them. Now that would be a very great problem for him…

Later during the day, when the sun was about to set, Syaoran found a clearing in a small forest that was not far from a village. That was the only place he could descend, without the notice of the civilians living there. Even though they were on the outskirts of his home already, he believed that he should not terrify his people.

"Are we staying here for the night?" Sakura asked when as she climbed down from the dragon's back. She was very tired and she wanted to eat and then sleep. The dragon did not answer. Instead, he took the clothes that Sakura offered to him and went off to some bushes, where he could change back into a human before joining Sakura for dinner.

Sakura took Syaoran's silence that they were staying there. She went off in search for twigs that she could light for a small fire that would not attract the attention of the people living nearby. When she was done, she looked for food and water, but she could not find any of these. She started a small fire with the twigs she had found and sat near it, rubbing her hands to get warm after spending such a long time on the dragon's back.

When Syaoran was back, he saw Sakura almost falling asleep near the fire. Looking around her, he saw that there was neither food nor water.

"There is no food and water to be found here?" he asked as he sat next to her near the fire. Sakura was jolted awake by his question. She nodded her head and answered, "There is none to be found and we could not risk going to the village to get them. Debonair's soldiers might be there."

"Since that is the case, then we shall have to make do without dinner tonight."

"Yes. Gomen…I am so tired…got to sleep. Good night." Sakura turn her back towards Syaoran as she went into sleep immediately.

Syaoran looked at the sleeping figure next to him. She was still so delicate…so fragile, and he could not believe that she had been captured by Debonair and her soldiers…his beloved Sakura…why must she also suffer such fates too? Why was it that fate did not allow either of them to be enjoying life to the fullest, and why was it that Debonair wanted to attack the neighbouring countries? Syaoran looked at Sakura for a while more before dozing off into a fitful slumber.

When it was morning, sounds of people marching into the village could be heard. There was laughter and singing and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The duo woke with a start. They had sensed someone with magical powers among the group. Was it Debonair's soldiers? No, it could not be, for there was also the laughter of children. There was no time to remove the traces of the fire if they were to hide at the same time. The people were too near.

Looking at each other, they nodded their heads and merged into the surroundings, lying flat on the ground in case they were spotted and also hiding their magical auras. The people entered the clearing. Laughter and talking was ceased immediately. They saw the traces of the fire that Sakura had built the day before.

The two of them looked out cautiously. Someone was touching the ashes of the fire and saw that his face was grim. He looked at the people behind him and announced, "There are people nearby who have camped here the day before. Protect the children, women and the old. We shall not have our festival here today."

The people nodded their heads. One of the men asked, "Should we take everyone back to the village?" Upon hearing that, they knew that these people were from the village. They could not harm them. They were just people who had lived at the borders of the country and were used to killing enemies. No, they were the innocent ones.

Sakura stood up from her hiding place. The villagers took out their swords and bows and pointed them at her. However, Sakura took no notice of the weapons and turned towards the person who had touched the ashes of the fire. She assumed that this person was the one in authority of the village: the village head.

"Good morning, sirs and madams. My name is Sakura Kinomoto and I am just a passing traveler to Syaoran's home." At this, Syaoran stood up from his hiding place too. "We have no intention of harming you all and I hope that you can let us pass so that we can go on with our journey."

The village head considered. "Sakura Kinomoto? Syaoran? Aren't those the royals who had gone missing years ago? The princess of Clow and the prince of our country? Are they telling lies? Or are they not? Still, should I lock them up until Princess Fuutie comes to inspect the training of our village?"

Everyone waited for his verdict expectantly. Finally, he said, "We have no choice but to lock you all up until someone from the royal palace confirms this. This is a dangerous place to be in, and I am sorry to treat the two of you like this if you are a princess and a prince. Men, take them to the cells!"

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything except this storyline.

How is it? One of my longer chapitres! Enjoy reading and I hope that you will review! Domo arigato!


	28. Chapitre Twentyseven: The Sister

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Twenty-seven: The Sister

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**

It was tough waiting for someone to recognize them and claim that they were innocent and that they were not murderous. The two of them waited in separate cells and they had not planned to escape this place, for they were given food and also news of the country at the same time from the kindly villagers who visited them. They had thought that Sakura and Syaoran would be mean and all sorts of things associated with bad people, but not the kind of treatment they had received from them. The villagers were always greeted with smiles and hugs, even though bars separated them. Syaoran did not change into his dragon form for fear of scaring the villagers, which was a good thing, and also of the fact that the cell was quite small, though very clean.

When Sakura heard that she was a princess, she was a bit confused, for though she had imagined herself as a princess when she was working at Debonair's palace, she had not imagined herself to be really one. Nadeshiko had not told her anything about her being one, but just that her past was very interesting and different from other people. Perhaps that was what she meant.

Syaoran was worried that Sakura would be very shy on account of her finding out that he was a prince. However, Sakura seemed not to mind him being one but was still in her cheery self, though at first she had tried to acknowledge him as "Your Highness", before she was begged by him not to call him that but Syaoran. He was really embarrassed that Sakura would greet him that way. Sakura was a princess too, that was true, but then…would she believe it? She had forgotten everything and whenever he had tried to unclasp that bracelet of hers, it could not be taken off. Unless everything from her memories and other important things were kept in there. If so, then that must be the bracelet he had heard of from his mother a long time ago.

"Syaoran…what are you thinking now? Do you feel lonely in that cell of yours?" Sakura asked from her cell when she saw that Syaoran was frowning while thinking about something.

Syaoran raised his head and looked at her, smiling as Sakura looked at him with concern. "No, I am all right, just thinking which of my sister is going to come here to recognize us. If I am not wrong, Fuutie should come here and see how the training is at this village. Perhaps, but I doubt mother will come, she is too busy with her generals, magicians and sorcerers."

"Is it? How many siblings do you have? Or do you only have Fuutie as a sister?" Sakura asked.

"I have four sisters! Imagine!" Syaoran continued after pausing dramatically when he saw the expression on Sakura's face. "They ALWAYS torture me when I was around, dressing me up like one of their dolls." Syaoran sighed, but Sakura laughed. She abruptly stopped when she heard something. Still, she sensed something powerful coming into the village. Who could that be? Syaoran also had sensed it and when seeing the unease on Sakura's face, he said, "Don't worry, it is just my sister and Keroberos."

"Keroberos? Who is this person?"

"Not a person at all. My, he will be so angry that you have forgotten about him! You see, Clow, your ancestor who founded the country, Clow, created him. He boasts that he is a very handsome beast and well, blah blah blah. Still, what is more important is that you are the mistress to the deck of cards that Clow had created a long time ago. Also, the guardians who protect the cards are Keroberos and Yue."

"Yue? Who is he?"

"I don't know how to say, but I think that when you meet them, you will remember more." Syaoran smiled. He hoped that when Sakura met them, the cards which were probably sealed in that bracelet would release the cards and also her key, including her memories, if that was possible. He had heard that the bracelet of that kind would release the wearer's memories, or some of it, when it senses the people or creatures that are trustworthy and the wearer has met them before, and also perhaps the things that were acquired when they were with the wearer. However, he was not sure if what he had heard was true.

The auras were coming closer and closer. It seemed that they were running very quickly towards the cells.

"Do you think that they have sensed us?"

"I think so, if not they would not be coming towards us so quickly."

Then, someone bellowed, "Sakura!" To Sakura, she thought that is was most probably Keroberos, for Syaoran had said that his sister would come and find him. Then, the bars that enclosed her were burnt away by a gigantic ball of flame and a beast ran in and hugged Sakura, tightly.

"Keroberos?" Sakura asked. "Why are you hugging me?" Then, suddenly, her eyes were not focused anymore. She was in a trance. However, Keroberos did not notice what had happened to her, for he was still hugging his mistress.

"Syaoran! There you are!" Fuutie cried out when she spotted him. Yes, it was his sister all right. Syaoran was released from his cell and he embraced his sister, before letting her go and asked a question, "How is mother and the others?"

"Oh, they are fine, though mother is very tired with all the warfare. Still, it is great that you are found again! So is Sakura! By the way, that Keroberos is really hugging her a bit too vigorously!" She turned and said, "Keroberos, do you know what you are doing to your mistress! Look at her! In a trance and you do not know that!"

It was then that Keroberos noticed. He let go of Sakura and looked at her intently. However, moments later, Sakura 'woke up' from her trance. She blinked as she looked around and then hugged Keroberos again, tears in her eyes. "Kero! Good to see you again! It has been a long time!" When she released Kero, something appeared in her hands- a deck of cards and a key. They were her Sakura cards. The cards surrounded her and Sakura smiled again.

"Well, it seems like Sakura has remembered some of her memories already. So what I have heard is true after all." Syaoran thought. Then, the four of them went out to the open to celebrate before going back to serious business.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or anything, except this storyline.

How is this chapitre? I hope that you will enjoy it!


	29. Chapitre Twentyeight: The Surprise

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Twenty-eight: The Surprise

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**

When Fuutie had finished inspecting the village's defense system and also the villagers' training, she had decided to call it a day after seeing that it was going on well. She had already finished with inspecting the villagers and small towns in that area and she thought that it was time to go back home to report to her mother about the training and also about Sakura and Syaoran.

As for Keroberos, even though he was also inspecting the village along with Fuutie, he was constantly glancing at Sakura and Syaoran, both of whom had decided to also accompany the duo. Sakura, however, though she was looking at the defenses, in her mind, she was thinking about other things. She thought that there were some things that she did not remember about her past life. She knew that there were fifty-two cards in her Card deck, but she also remembered that there was someone who was also collecting the Cards with her in the past- she remembered that she did not capture all the Cards- but she did not know who that person was. Therefore, it made her wonder who that person was and whether that person was someone she knew.

"Come on now, we have to go back to report to mother." Fuutie said as she went towards the center of the village. "However, it seems that Keroberos will not want to carry me on his back, now that his mistress is back, so I will have no choice but to ask you, my dear brother, to take me back home." Syaoran was a bit shocked, for her had remembered that Keroberos had managed to carry both him and Sakura on his back when they were young…unless Kero had something that he wanted to discuss with Sakura?

"I know what you are going to do…all right then. But still, can we go somewhere else and then you know, leave for home? I am afraid that the villagers will be terrified by my new appearance." Syaoran answered as he looked at Fuutie, hoping to talk some sense into her, and not leave this village dramatically. Fuutie smiled, for this was still her brother, who had not changed after all these years. Still, she was glad to have him back and she would give in to him for the time being then.

She consented to his request and they went to the clearing where Sakura and Syaoran were captured by the villagers and there, he changed into his dragon form. Kero went towards Sakura and said simply, "Climb onto my back." She obeyed and the four of them left the village.

While they were going to Syaoran's home, Fuutie was telling Syaoran what had changed since Yubaba captured him. He could not believe that so much could change. He had thought that all the lands he had been to would remain as before. However, upon seeing them, he had thought that his country was in a bad shape with the years of warring with Debonair. Still, the people managed to harvest enough rice and store them secretly in their homes or in the country's granaries.

As for Kero, he was talking to Sakura, who was listening attentively to what he was saying. "Sakura, do you remember the one who captured the cards with you? Or do you not?"

"Why? And no, I do not remember anything at all, except the time when I captured the cards and transformed them and also the time period when I was at Debonair's country and Yubaba's country."

"Good. So she must have erased her memories then. However, all was futile, for that specific card was still not captured and is out there somewhere hiding from us." Kero thought.

"So you have forgotten him? Good." Kero muttered.

"Why, Kero?"

"Oh! Nothing, nothing!"

"So what have you been doing during the time when I was at Debonair's palace?"

And so, they talked about more interesting things other than the past. By the time they reached the capital, it was evening. The palace loomed in view and most of the people who were outside their homes on the streets were craning their necks to see the royal members go to the palace. However, they were surprised- very surprised- to see the dragon. It meant that their next king was back. Everyone, of course, rejoiced.

However, the one getting the greatest surprise was his mother. Fuutie had told him a lot of the things that Syaoran had missed out when he was missing from his home. Thus, when he saw that his people were thinner than before and many of them were carrying weapons out in the streets in case there was an attack and they needed to defend the capital.

They entered through the palace gates. The person who came running out to greet them was no other than Syaoran's mother- Yelen.

"Oh, my dear son…thank goodness you are safe!" Queen Yelen said as she went to look at his son in his dragon form. She turned and looked at the passenger on Kero's back. "So are you, Sakura! You have grown prettier since the last time I saw you!" Then, she went and hugged Sakura.

Sakura was confused. Who was this person? Was Syaoran's mother related to her in any way in the past? How come she could not remember? Or was it the doing of the bracelet?

Sakura kept politely puzzled and allowed herself to be hugged by Syaoran's mother. She saw that there were tears in her eyes. When Yelen finally released her, she asked, "Where is Nadeshiko? Where is she?"

"Well, I have no idea, for when my mother and I were running away from Debonair, we lost contact…"

"Do you know if she is…you know, dead?"

Sakura shook her head as she answered, "I still sense her aura somewhere far away, but I do not know where."

"Well! That can't be helped! Now, how about going inside and get cleaned up? You all could do with a rest!" Yelen clapped her hands together as they went into the palace, where they would get cleaned up and eaten and then rested…

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Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or anything…

GOMEN! GOMEN! GOMEN! So sorry…I wanted to update this fanfic, but then I did not have the time to type, so I only updated today! I hope that you all will not mind if I try to update every fortnight…I am now very busy with schoolwork- as usual…Still, please stay tuned to find out what is happening next! Ja!


	30. Chapitre Twentynine: The Guardians

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Twenty-nine: The Guardians

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**

"Come, Sakura, let me show you your room." Yelen said as she went into the palace, then turned around and continued, "Son, your room is where it used to be, unless you have forgotten where it is?"

Syaoran nodded his dragonhead and went ahead, with Fuutie following behind him. They were fast and were soon around the corner and the two royals could not see them as they disappeared to their rooms. However, they could hear the quiet slams of their doors while Yelen led the way to Sakura's room. They finally reached a place that was quite deserted- there were no people around and it was very quiet. Keroberos, who had been following them silently but were noticed by neither Sakura nor Yelen, went past them and into a room of his own, which was next to hers.

"I am not sure if you remember this place, but I hope you do, as this is your room whenever you came to visit us…" she trailed off when she saw Sakura shake her head.

"Gomen…I do not remember anything much, because Mother locked my memories away in this bracelet of mine…" Sakura said as she held up the hand that the bracelet was on. However, she put it down very quickly when she saw Yelen's face turn pale. "What is the matter? Is anything wrong?"

Yelen did not answer, but she kept looking at the bracelet. Finally, she 'woke' up and said in a very restrained voice, "Well, let's go in then." And pushed open the door.

Sakura's jaw popped open. For she could not believe that she had been living in this room since she was a young girl. It was very large, and very neat too, with all sorts of furnishings only the rich could afford.

"But…but, I don't think that I should live in this room! I won't be able to be used to it! Please, could you please let me have a servants' room? Not that I do not appreciate your efforts, but I am just not used to living in such a spacious room!" Sakura protested, her hands gesticulating wildly.

"You are a princess! You…" Yelen started speaking…

Meanwhile, Keroberos was in his room, with his head on the floor. Someone hovered in the air above him, a look of wonder on his face.

"…Mistress is back, I can sense her a few hours ago." The being said, as he looked down at the creature below him, who was staring at him, frowning.

"Yes, yes, yes, Yue. Now can you please get down and sit down here? Your flying makes my head spin." Keroberos snapped. "Master is awake and sane. It is a wonder that we cannot sense her until some of her memories was returned to her."

"Ah…the bracelet has finally returned some of her memories? Good. But what about her feather? That is one of the most important things after all…" Yue trailed off.

"Unfortunately, it was not returned to her…yet. The time is not right, or the element that was supposed to make the bracelet return her feather has not appeared. However, if you are concerned about the cards, they are back and with her. Now will you stop flying and sit on the ground?"

"I feel like flying now and when I'm tired of it, naturally, I will land." Yue frowned and looked towards the wall, where Sakura was now currently bathing in the next room. She had already given in to Yelen and would stay in the room that she said belonged to her. She, however, had protested to having someone bathe her and had almost chased the poor maid out of the room. (Kero and Yue had heard it clearly, the maid sobbing and saying that she was not good enough for Sakura and Sakura coaxing the maid before asking her to stay in the room and let her bathe for herself.)

"So…what do you think of the situation here now that Sakura and the brat is back?" Kero asked.

Yue was silent, but when he answered, Kero started. "War will be worse, with more innocent people killed. Times will be worse than ever and when the people know that they are back, Sakura and Syaoran will have to help in the war. After all, the war is in their own countries too."

They stared at the wall, before Kero abruptly tried to cover his awkwardness by saying brusquely, "Let's visit that brat."

Which they did, by flying over to his room.

Syaoran had already finished bathing and changed back into his human form, before Yue and Kero barged into his room, unannounced. Syaoran spun around and frowned, before relaxing into a smile for the first time in a few days.

"Yue, Kero, so the two of you are staying in the palace. How's life in here then?" he asked casually as he strode over to a chair and sat down.

"I assume that your sister had told you what had happened in the war then. However, you seem very smug for a brat like you." Kero said as he sat down once again, his head in his paws.

"What do you mean?" Syaoran was angry. "How can you say that I am angry? It is just that I am glad to be back home, that's all!"

"All right, all right. So what have you been doing at Yubaba's the whole few years?" Kero asked, ignorant of Syaoran scolding him.

"Serving Yubaba, if that is what you are asking. I was lucky that I was free from Yubaba. Thanks to Sakura, that is."

At that moment, someone came into the room. It was a maid, who first greeted Syaoran, Kero and Yue, before telling the three of them her news, "Sirs, if you all do not mind, the Queen has sent me to inform Your Highness and the Princess's guardians that you have to go to the throne room and meet the officers. If you all would like to go now, please follow me."

Syaoran stood up and said, "We'll go immediately. Thank you for informing us of this."

Thus, they went on their way to the throne room, where the officers would greet them and see with their eyes that the Crown Prince and the Card Mistress was back.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything at all except this storyline.

This fanfic is going to be interesting now…maybe more humor soon, who knows? Perhaps only me. :D


	31. Chapitre Thirty: The Officers

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Thirty: The Officers

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**

As Keroberos, Yue and Syaoran made their way down to the throne room, they were silent, pausing every now and then to examine one painting on the wall. Other than that, they followed the maid to the hall. They reached the entrance and the maid stopped, saying and curtsying, "Sirs, please wait here for the Princess; she will be here presently to enter the throne room with you. Are there any things that you require, sirs?"

"No, thank you for informing us of the meeting, you may leave." Syaoran said as the maid, who had curtseyed, blushed, before leaving the presence of the prince.

"You are making a lot of young ladies here blush huh, prince?" Keroberos asked dryly.

"No, I have not!" Syaoran stared at the creature next to him.

"Yes, you are. Unless you are such a baka not to have noticed that the maid was blushing so hard that she looked as if she was ill."

Yue made a sound in his throat before leaving Kero and Syaoran and towards someone. The duo stopped their quarrels and looked at the approaching figure. It was Sakura. She was dressed in a gown with intricate designs on it. It was pale pink and looking up, Syaoran realized that Sakura's hair was tied up with ribbons.

Sakura was looking down on the floor, not staring at anyone. Yue approached her and said, "Mistress, are you all right?"

Sakura looked up abruptly and answered, "Yes," before bestowing him with a smile and continued, 'I'm all right, don't worry." Syaoran took this as his cue to approach Sakura and he whispered in her ear, "You are very beautiful in this dress. Very."

At this, Sakura blushed while the other maids who were nearby saw what their prince had done and were busy trying to restrain their giggles. Syaoran took Sakura's hand and led her towards the door, Sakura following numbly behind him. It took Sakura some moments to compose herself and whispered, "This dress is so uncomfortable. Why is it that I can't wear a more comfortable dress?"

Just then, their presence was announced and the door was thrown open. Syaoran led Sakura into the throne room and walked their way towards the end of the room, which, luckily, was not a very long journey. (Yue and Kero were following behind them.) Sakura's legs were trembling as she walked, but she held her head high as she looked calmly around her, hiding her curiosity at the people who were staring at her and Syaoran with the utmost curiosity.

When they reached the end, the two of them either curtsied or bowed. As they did so, they heard murmurs from the people who were crowded in the throne room. Syaoran knew that this would happen, for he could understand why the people would talk among themselves. They could not believe the fact that the Card Mistress and the Crown Prince was back, that was all, but if one came back, there would not be as many disturbances such as this, for two of the most powerfully magical people were back. He believed that by the next day, the whole country would know that they were back.

"Please rise," Queen Yelen, dressed in another dress, said. The two of them rose from either their bows or curtsy. "Welcome back home, and I assume that the two of you are all right, after the whole journey from Yubaba's country."

"Yes, mother, we are all right, but I think that the Guardians would be especially relieved to have their mistress back again after such a long time. After all, she was captured by Debonair and made to serve as a slave."

The crowd gasped at that. The murmurs, which had stopped while the queen was speaking, started again.

Sakura hissed in her mind, "_You shouldn't have said that! Now what have you done?_" She stared at him, her eyes red with fury.

The queen waited for silence before continuing, "Princess, I assume that you are fine after your ordeal?"

"Your Highness, I am all right. I'm sorry to have kept you worried for such a long time." Sakura answered Yelen's question.

However, at that moment, someone in the crowd shouted, "What if this is not the Princess of Clow? What if she is a fake sent by Debonair?"

Hell broke loose. The people in the throne room started shouting and talking. Order could not be maintained. It was only when Syaoran finally shouted for silence before order was resumed.

"Are you asking for proof that she is the Card Mistress and the Princess of Clow?" Syaoran asked coldly. "Or would you like to see for yourself? Though I should think that we should not tire the princess for no good reason."

"Why would we recognize the wrong mistress?" Yue asked. "We, of all people, should know who our mistress is. Have you ever heard of a dog not recognizing its own master?"

Whoever had said that did not heed what Syaoran and Yue were saying. Instead, something came from the other end of the room, going full speed towards Sakura. Sakura gave a cry of surprise. Syaoran summoned his sword and hit the deadly sword away. It landed on the ground with a clang.

The moment it landed, more appeared from nowhere and tried to hurt Sakura, but a shield created by Yue stopped them. More and more appeared, and it seemed that Yelen was also under attack! Sakura ran out from Yue's shield and cried out:

"Key of the Star,

With powers burning bright,

Reveal the staff,

And shine your light.

Release!"

Sakura summoned the shield card, before the swords hurt the surprised Yelen. Syaoran saw someone running towards one of the windows and thought that that person was the one who summoned the swords. He called upon and incantation, but Kero and Yue flew towards the person and trapped him…

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or anything! Please don't sue me! 

Gomen………………………I am so sorry that I have not updated for such a long time…

By the way, I have a deviant art account that I shared with nutty-brains. My nickname there is hana, all right? Hope that you all will like the drawings there! Will try to update as soon as possible! Hmph!


	32. Chapitre Thirtyone: The Confirmation

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Thirty-one: The Confirmation

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**

Kero and Yue trapped that person, but he continued to fight, casting spells and attacking the guardians with his sword at the same time. However, to his consternation, they dodged all the attacks and everything was of no use. Thus, he started attacking the officers instead. But Sakura, who was angry at such a person attacking innocent people, cried out, "Wood!" The Wood Card, a beautiful maiden with green hair, went towards the person, now identified by everyone as a man, stretched out her hands. Branches of trees appeared from her and wrapped themselves tightly around the man.

Whenever the man tried to escape by cutting through his barrier, the Wood Card summoned more branches and wrapped around him, eventually causing the man to be surrounded in a ball of branches. The whole throne room became silent once the man stopped struggling, some looking in wonder at the Wood Card, some at Sakura's wand or at Sakura's face, which was grim with determination.

"Who is this person to have barged into the throne room of the palace of my country?" Yelen commanded as she stood up, anger showing in the whole of her face. The man remained silent. 'Speak to me!"

There was a muffled answer. The Wood Card loosened her hold on the man slightly and allowed him to move his jaws. The man repeated, "Assassin to Queen Yelen." And with that, the man started screaming, his face contorted in pain as something invisible clawed at him. The Wood Card released her hold. She did not like the feel of the magical aura emanating from the man. She looked at Sakura, who nodded her head and allowed the card to return to its Card form.

"The Death Spell…" Sakura whispered as she looked at the man die. "A Death Spell created by Debonair…" The officers around her looked uneasy.

"A Death Spell you say?" Yelen asked. "What does it actually do? I have read about it but I am not sure what it does."

"The Death Spell…" Sakura's voice seemed distant. "This spell is cast upon an assassin whenever he has a job by Debonair…As long as the assassin succeeds, the spell will be undone, but if he fails…he will die in torture, with blood heating up in his veins until he dies…"

Sakura had seen this happen to someone before and it was horrible. In fact, it was shown purposely to all the slaves one day just to impress on them the consequences of running away from Debonair. The poor person who had to die in front of them had to suffer in pain for more than two hours before he died.

"Are there any ways to undo this?"

"No."

"Then, take a knife and end his life mercifully." Yelen commanded one of her officers.

"No! Don't do that! Whoever tries to end the life of the man will also suffer the same fate!" Sakura shrieked. "Don't ever do that! The nature of the spell is to let the one to die suffer until his last moments! If another person goes near him, he will also get the spell!"

Syaoran looked as Sakura as he walked towards her. Her face was very pale and she was trembling very hard. None of the officers had noticed this at all as they were looking at the man contorting in pain at their feet.

"Are you all right? Come, leave this place and have a rest. I'm sure that you will not need to worry about your identity anymore." Syaoran said as he took her arm and led her out of the room. He brought her back to her room, where Sakura, her legs weak, sat down on the floor and wept.

"I don't want to see this happen again! Never! Assassins are people too and it is unfair for them to die just because they fail to kill their target!" Sakura whispered as she cried. Syaoran, who had no idea how to comfort her, took her in his arms, and hugged her. Tightly.

"Shh…it's not your fault. This is a war among us and Debonair and many other countries. Many people are bound to die, though they are innocent. The way to end this war is to kill Debonair. However, if we can capture her, that is a better way…now, don't cry, all right?" Syaoran whispered in her ear. He could not bear to see his beloved cry, and it pained him so. Sakura did not try to break away from his hug, but continued crying. Eventually, she stopped and fell asleep, right in Syaoran's arms. He carried her to her bed and then sat beside her, holding her hand and staring at her, his beloved Sakura…

Meanwhile, at the throne room, the man died. It was quick, but when he died, all the blood spurted out of his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. It was gory, but there was nothing that the officers nor Yelen could do.

Some of the officers had already started whispering that the lady, whom some of them had thought was the fake Mistress of the Cards, was the real princess of Clow. They had seen the cards and more importantly, the staff, for hers was the only one staff that no one would mistake in their whole lives.

"Your Highness," one of the officers asked. "We are sorry that something like this has to happen when the Crown Prince and the Card mistress have finally returned to their own homes. We are also sorry to have doubted his Highness and the Princess's identity. Please forgive us."

"You are forgiven. After all, it is a mistake that anyone would commit after fighting so many years of war with Debonair. It would make you suspicious of anyone." Yelen commented as she looked at her loyal officers. "I really do hope that something like this would not happen again and that means that the training of the soldiers must be more vigorous so that our country can be defended more effectively. From now onwards, training will be more vigorous and I hope that everyone can participate, including my subjects. That way, when there is a need, you all can defend your own country and home. You are dismissed."

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything at all except this fanfic's storyline!

Yeah! Finally finished another chapitre! I hope that all of you have enjoyed it and please wait for the next chapitre! I'll apologize here first so that if the next chapitre is out later than expected, please do not blame me…perhaps you should blame on my teachers. :D Ja!


	33. Chapitre Thirtytwo: The Initiating

**Feathers of Love**

**Chapitre Thirty-two: The Initiating

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**

After Eriol had read all the plans that the Royal family and the general had written and stored in the hidden room, he had thought about many things- from the initial plans to the most recent one- the one that they had planned to retake the city. However, what he was most concerned was the plan to retake the city, for though the ideas for the plan was very good, it would require a lot of people who were going to risk their lives, which meant that the planning would have to be even more detailed.

He gave the signal to the person waiting outside and hidden room and Touya opened the door. He was frowning slightly, but Eriol smiled a tight smile. "The plans are actually very good, but the most recent plan would have to be more organized and detailed, for we are risking the lives of many people who are the citizens of this country. Besides, the most planning is this plan, for we need lots of details for such a massive plan that we hope to initiate as soon as possible, but at the same time, cut down the number of people who may be killed."

"I agree, but how to do that and how to carry out the plan without people getting killed, that is the problem. Most of the people are innocent and we cannot kill the soldiers that may attack us, for they are under the orders of Debonair, and we also cannot let them kill us. So what should we do?" Touya asked, as he started frowning more and more.

Eriol remained silent. He was thinking about this problem when he was in the hidden room reading the documents, but it was never going to be easy. If the worst came to the worst, people would have to die, even if they did not want it to happen.

"Can you give me more time to think about it before I answer your question? There are many details that I seem not to have thought about when I was in the room, though some were thought of, with quite a lot of details, I hope."

"You have one day to think about it, that is all that I am going to give you. Any more than that, give us a good reason, or tell us what you think which part of the plan that you think will probably succeed so that we can carry it out first. But most importantly, I need to know how we can pass this message to all the people in this city."

"All right. Meanwhile, it will be good if all of you take a good rest and conserve your magical energies. I will keep watch and think."

With that, Eriol went to sit at the chair near the door while Touya went into his room and slept like his parents and their subject, the general. Eriol pondered about the problem for quite some time and eventually, he knew what he was going to do. However, he planned to only tell them part of the plan that will be carried out first, He would only tell them the next part of it when the first part was completed. In a way, Eriol was now their master planner, who would plan all the plans that would be carried out to revolt against Debonair.

When everyone woke up, and had washed themselves and eaten breakfast, they gathered around Eriol and sat down, waiting patiently for him to speak, which he finally did, after some time.

"I have raised a small shield against eavesdroppers so you all need not worry about people listening to what we are going to say. However, it is a very weak spell, as I dared not cast a strong one in case the magicians sense it." Then, Eriol proceeded to tell them on how he planned to let the people living in the city know of their plans to recapture the city. Later, after everyone had heard of Eriol's plans, they made some amendments to it so that it would be a better plan and eventually, it became their plan A.

A few days later, as everyone went about doing their own things, Eriol locked himself in the house and used his magic. It was the stealthy kind, it's aura so weak that the magicians would definitely not sense it, but to the people whom he wished to hear of the plans, it would be very, very loud in their minds. To make the people terrified of saying the plan out loud to other people, he would, of course, have to attach another spell to it. This is what the people had heard in their minds:

"CITIZENS OF CLOW, THIS IS ERIOL, FRIEND OF QUEEN NADESHIKO AND KING FUJITAKA SPEAKING. YOUR KING AND QUEEN ARE ALIVE, SO IS YOUR CROWN PRINCE. WE HAVE COME UP WITH A PLAN TO REVOLT AGAINST DEBONAIR AND WE SEEK YOUR COOPERATION. PLEASE GATHER AT THE CITY SQUARE ONE WEEK FROM NOW AT TWELVE NOON AND RAISE A COMMOTION TO DISTRACT THE SOLDIERS. THEN, THERE WILL BE PEOPLE WHO WILL CAPTURE THE SOLDIERS AND THE MAGICIANS WHO MAY BE AT THE CITY. AFTER WE HAD TAKEN BACK OUR HOME, WE WILL HAVE TO START TRAINING SO THAT WE CAN PROTECT OURSELVES AGAINST THE ENEMIES. IF POSSIBLE, DO NOT KILL THESE SOLDIERS UNLESS NECESSARY. IF ANY OF YOU DARES TO TELL OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT THIS, YOU ARE WARNED THAT YOU WILL BE KILLED IMMEDIATELY BY A DEATH SPELL. REMEMBER TO HIDE YOU CHILDREN SOMEWHERE SAFE, SO THAT THEY WILL NOT WITNESS THIS. I WILL BE IN CONTACT WITH ALL OF YOU AGAIN SOON TO REMIND YOU OF THIS PLAN AGAIN."

With that, Eriol ended his contact with the people and slumped down on his chair. It was exhausting to maintain such a spell on so many people. He would have to rest, but before that, he would have to place a spell on this house in case people had decided to visit them. After that, Eriol slept, still on his chair.

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything but this story's storyline; please don't sure me.

Yeah! Another chapitre complete! I hope that it is not too boring. Enjoy!


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